Level 1
by WwInactiveAccountwW
Summary: SkyHigh AU! When Howard Weinerman accidentally gains the power to transform into the Tengu on a family vacation gone wrong, he must attend McFist High (for Special Children) to learn how to control it. Randy Cunningham has no other choice but to attend as well. There's only one problem: Randy does not have a 'superpower.' Next chapter: ?
1. Intro

Hey, my name's Randy Cunningham and I'm about to have my face caved in by a dodgeball. As my life flashes before my eyes, I review the events that put me in this position in the first place. Here it goes…

Some people are… special. I know, I know, some people don't like this word because it implies some are better than others or because it's used to describe a kid who doesn't fit in to make them feel better. Fine. Some people are different in a way that makes them have to be taken away from normal society. That's so much longer though.

Confused? Me too. I shouldn't even be in McFist High! McFist High School (for special children) is smack dab in the middle of Norrisville and no one suspects a thing. It's a private school and people feel pity for you if you go there. What they don't understand is that MHS is a school for _superheroes. _

You heard me. Actually the first rules here are that you can't use your powers outside of school until you graduate and to leave crime fighting to the police. So there aren't any superheroes, but we still have superpowers. Which is why I shouldn't be here: I don't have any. All I have is a tendency to make terrible puns and an unknown father. I'll get back to this in a sec.

My best bro Howard Weinerman- he's the humungous bird over there- went on a trip to Japan with his family last summer. They went to some museum and he thought it would be funny to touch the exhibits with the sign that read "DO NOT TOUCH". Turns out the golden eye he touched held the spirit of a bird demon called a Tengu. The Weinerman's hired an exorcist but he said the only way to un-possess him was to burn Howard at the stake and release the spirit. That obviously didn't go over well, so they went to some other person who gave him an amulet to help him control the Tengu.

McFist High caught wind of it all and wanted Howard to be enrolled in their school, to help him learn how to have control so he won't be a danger to the public. While they were investigating him, they also investigated me since I've been his friend since pre-school.

Mandatory background checks? This school is honking intense.

Anyway, I apparently _might_ have inherited some powers from my father, but no one will tell me who he is. Mom doesn't know (he had given her a false identity. Jerk.) and the school won't tell. The school contacted Mom and though she doubts I'll inherit any superpowers, she thought enrollment would be a good idea. The classes are more hands on and she thought it would help me pay attention better. I agreed because I didn't want to be separated from Howard.

So here we are.

Coach Green, Power Trainer, was our only teacher on the first day. In a normal school, he would be called a gym teacher. We gathered in the spacious gym and had our powers accessed. There are no grades at MHS, here they are called levels. On the first day, Green decides how strong/ dangerous our powers are and places us in a level. There are twelve levels and since I have no powers, I'm in Level 12 aka 1st grade. It's very hard to move up Levels because you can only improve your control of a power, not change it. I don't know of any Level 1's; higher Levels mean rarer powers.

Here's some examples. Bucky, a kid in my Level, can make things triangle shaped. Want a triangular donut? He's your guy. But Bash- son of the Principal Hannibal McFist- is Level 7. Bash is like the Incredible Hulk, except he doesn't change color. He just looks like a twelve foot tall, ripped version of himself when he transforms. Rumor has it, his step-father purposely engineered the 'accident' that gave him his power.

About twenty of us joined this year, so I only know their powers and names. We haven't been mixed in with the main student body yet, that comes in a month. The official estimate is that 200 kids attend here from all over the world.

Morgan (we can't divulge our last names; it's to prevent grudges from leaving the school. I think about it like we have secret identities) she's from Brazil and can control human likenesses. Dolls, statues, figurines, anything except actual people. So she's a Level 6.

I'd love to know more about the crazy powers people have, but I stopped paying attention part way through and forgot most everyone's names. Whoops. It's only the first week, I'll figure it out.

One last thing, on the first day when we showed off our powers, I had to say I didn't have any. Publically. Now some people, including muscle monster Bash, are betting on 'who can make the little nerd reveal his powers first'. Vice Principal Slimovitz said intentional malicious behavior towards other students is prohibited. Someone should mention that to Bash _because his 100 mph dodgeball is going to break my honking neck._

I cringe, bringing my arms up to cover my face. Goodbye cruel world…

WHAP.

I'm okay!

"I gotcha buddy." Howard had blocked it with a wing at the expense of going out. Transforming back to human form, he got in line with the other players who had been hit. Howard really looks out for me in Power Class (read gym class but with superpowers). I'd have been in the infirmary the second day without him. He's only a Level 9 now, but with more practice I know he'll end up with at least a Level 7.

What should have been my freshman year at Norrisville High is going to be very exciting, I can feel it.


	2. Chapter 1

_-Four days before the Dodgeball game-_

"Oh! My baby boy is all grown-up now!" Mrs. Weinerman dabbed the corners of her eyes with a tissue. "Going off to school, away from home for days at a time…"

"Moooom," my friend Howard drawled, "I'll be back on the weekends, it's not a big deal." He expertly ducked his mother's embrace, placing the last of his luggage in the trunk of the family van.

"She's right Howie. You've never been gone longer than two nights. And I used to have to pick you up from sleepovers in the middle of night because you got scared." Mort Weinerman furrowed his eyebrows, no doubt worrying if this was a good idea after all.

"I was five!" Howards groans. I can't help chuckling a little when he mouths the words 'save me' in my direction. "Can we please just go?"

"We're still waiting on your sister. She has to say goodbye before we leave," said Mort firmly in addition to a quick glance at the house.

We don't have to wait long. Heidi opened the door casually, her hands fiddling with a camera.

And that completes the Weinerman family. They all have striking orange hair and the resemblance is obvious. Heidi is closest to her mother, both with blue eyes and a beauty mark on her face. Howard and Mort have brown eyes and the same puffy hair, contrasting with the girls' straight hair. One big happy family.

"Say goodbye to your little brother, Heidi," Mrs. Weinerman looked at her pointedly.

"Bye." Came the disinterested and slightly annoyed answer. Heidi and Howard are always on each other's nerves and today is no different.

"Smell you later." Howard grinned triumphantly and Heidi rolled her eyes. After a few more similar exchanges about how they totally aren't going to miss each other, Mort decided it was time to go.

"Okay then, let's blow this popsicle stand! You have all your things Randy?" Mort asked.

I nodded. My mom had dropped me off earlier and my things were the first into the van. She would have taken me to McFist High (for Special Children) herself, but she had to go to work. Money is a little tight and she was amazed to learn MHS schooling was free. I suppose since McFist inherited several factories around the country he can afford it.

With a few more tearful hugs and kisses from Howard's mother that even I couldn't escape, Mort, Howard, and I piled into the van. The ride was a short one, fifteen minutes tops with heavy traffic. However, Mort crammed as much information as possible into our brains about the school.

"It has twenty-five floors, glass elevators, six types of terrains- including a beach- and an enclosed rooftop!" He can recollect the entire brochure from memory and passed it back to us as proof. "Look, look at page three! Do you see that gym? It's equipped with all sorts of brand new technology and-"

"Since you're telling us all about it, I won't even have to bother to read it," said Howard, dumping the laminated papers in my lap. On the front, a jovial mustached face beamed at me. Small lettering informed that the man is the principal.

I leafed through it, noting a folded map nested in its pages, and then shoved it in my backpack. Mort was still rambling on about how amazing the school is. I could care less about the school. I came for the sole purpose of sticking with Howard. He's my friend, possibly my only real one. I couldn't face my first year of high school without him… and what if he went off to this fancy new school and made cooler friends? Friends with cool superpowers that made him forget about me?

This is the only thing I could ever thank my 'mysterious' father for- leaving me with superpowers. I hope I find them quickly. The most superhuman thing I can do is play Grave Puncher for ten hours straight without breaks. Unfortunately, that's not a superpower.

Howard was slowly rubbing the small, golden ball on a chain hanging around his neck, a habit he had developed recently. It is a smaller version of the Eye of Eternity- the exhibit he had touched in Japan. The principle was the same: keeping the Tengu contained. He told me he took it off once. As soon as he did the demon (_Yokai_) tried to take over. Now Howard is scared of losing it and constantly touches the charm to make sure it's still there.

The humongous building soon came into view, its pyramidal form rising above the surrounding skyscrapers.

"There it is boys! Wow, I can't believe a superhero school was hiding under our noses the entire time!" exclaimed Mort.

In the parking lot, two robotic gorillas approached the van offering to carry our luggage. We didn't have a whole lot, just some changes of clothes and necessities, like my gaming system and our videogames. Nonetheless, the Robo-Apes escorted us in.

"Don't forget to call!" Mort called as he left for work.

The lobby was unimpressive compared to the School's large size. There's a small office to one side and seating to the other. Five other kids were already seated, waiting. We sat as far away from them as possible.

The minutes ticked by and Howard and I passed the time by making fun of the lame posters adorning the walls. They were the typical sort, spewing unrealistic happiness about how wonderful school is and the motivational 'do your best!' ones.

My leg bounced uncontrollably as I grew more anxious. What are we all waiting for? Then there were ten of us in the lobby. The only two talking was a boy with messy blond hair and a girl with glasses and braces. Their hushed whispers were the only sound in the otherwise quiet room.

When we ran out of posters, I began to watch the other kids more closely. In addition to the two talking, a shifty eyed boy sat in a corner alone and two very short boys were closest to him. One was glaring at anything that moved and the other (yikes is that a unibrow?) appeared to be talking to himself.

The only other girl had short, curly brown hair and was very innocent looking. She held a stuffed bunny in the lap of her knee length pink dress and swung her legs back and forth as the chair was a bit too tall for her. She's pretty cute and I was about to say this to Howard when he tapped my shoulder.

Walking through the main entrance was a girl who was drop dead gorgeous. Her flat expression coupled with her crop top and ripped jeans with one leg rolled up would make her stand out in any crowd. She stopped partway through the door, hand on her hip. A sports bag seemed to walk by itself next to her.

Everyone was watching her intently. Her presence sort of commanded attention. Then she sat down, and the moment was broken.

"Dibs," Howard whispered to me. I snorted. Like that would ever work out.

The bag settled next to the charismatic girl and five tiny peaople came out from under it. They unzipped the bag and disappeared into it.

I gasped. "Howard, did you see that?"

"Hm?" He replied distractedly, still focusing on the newcomer. I sighed, knowing he wouldn't be getting over her anytime soon. I know we're at a school for people with supernatural powers, but what the heck happened there?

The clock was about to turn eight when the last of the new students trickled in, nineteen total. The last was an intimidating guy who looked like he should be on a football team. Unlike the rest of us, he came to the lobby in an elevator and was obnoxiously loud.

"Oh Yeah! Bash is in da house!" He said, pumping a fist. A man and a women followed him out of the sliding door. The woman hugged him and told him to have a good day. The man just nodded along.

"Yo Cunningham, you know who that is? That's the Principal!" Howard nudged me and I assumed he was talking about the man, not Bash. "Mr. McFist himself!"

A moment's reflection reminded me of the brochure and Bash's presumed father is the same as the man on the cover.

"Mr. McFist sir, how nice of you to join us!" A thin, tall man rushed from the office, looking immensely pleased. "Kids, this is Principal McFist and I am Vice Principal Slimovitz. You may call me VP Slimz if that makes you feel more acquainted with me. After all, we are your princi-_PALS."_

A round of groaning ensued, but I did notice that the messy blond boy thought the pun funny. He said something along the lines of 'Corny pun zing!' whatever that means.

VP Slimz continued. "So you are all here? Good. I'll be showing you around, but first we need to take your things to the Newbie dorms." He showed us into the elevator and I'm crammed between Howard and the shifty eyed one.

"My name is Doug thank you very much," said Shifty Eyes, pushing his glasses higher up on his nose.

"Randy?" I didn't remember asking him for a name… I extended my hand in greeting at which he huffed and turned away.

The ride was very short, only one floor up. The rooms are lined up along the perimeter of the second floor, then some form a U inside of those and in the U is another row of rooms. It's like a square with a U inside and a one inside that. A couple of older students were wandering about the dorms, paying very little interest in us.

"Four to a room, girls with girls and boys with boys. Just put your things in one and come back here in ten minutes." VP Slimz pointed to the rooms in the very middle. "Don't worry, these arrangements are only for a month!"

We rushed off. Howard and I found an empty room and waited for our roommates. The room was just large enough for two bunk beds and a bathroom. I immediately called top bunk; it's like what I had at home.

A few minutes later and the messy blond and Doug show up. Doug walked in and threw his stuff on the top bunk of the opposite bed while the blond asked politely if he could join us.

"Howard, don't you think Doug is a little suspicious?" I asked Howard quietly.

"He looks like a smarty-pants know-it-all to me," He confirmed. We were standing right next to each other and Doug was on the other side of the room, but I could swear he glared at us.

The four of us returned to the elevator with the others once we claimed our beds and VP Slimz took us back to the Lobby.

"Here is the Lobby and offices. The Nurses station is just over there. Oh, say hello to Señora Jorge."

A tidy woman with her dark hair pulled into a bun waved from the Main Office.

"She is our Interpreter and Secretary, very helpful for the foreign exchange students. Power: Projective Omnilingualism." VP Slimz stumbled over the last word. "Meaning we can all hear each other in our native language."

Back on the elevator, we rose above the Dorms, the Cafeteria and the Gym. We didn't stop to look, we could see the floors through the glass elevator. VP Slimz assured us those floors would be the next stops after the tour.

"The MHS Gymnasium is sixty-five feet tall or five stories high. It's near indestructible, just like the Coach! Today you will go here for Level Placement, isn't that exciting?"

The small space was filled with excited talk. There were balconies at each place the elevator could stop for spectators, at the very top was actual bleachers. The walls and floor were fitted together from many smaller pieces, suggesting any part of the room could move and change. In the very center was a raised platform, illuminated by bright lights.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Bash is going to put on a show for you guys!" The older teen flexed, taking up even more of the crowded elevator.

"Now don't spoil it for them," VP Slimz said with a smile.

"What do you think we're going to be doing in there?" I asked Howard, nose pressed against the glass.

"Dunno, but if you ask me, it looks like a stage."

Howard was right.

The tour continued up to the Library and Basic Studies. We piled out of the elevator to greet two more of the staff. The hippie looking librarian shooed us out, upset that we hadn't signed the 'agreement' yet. Then we met Mrs. Zingwald whose appearance is hard to describe. Apparently she can Age Shift, which she took advantage of every few minutes. Young or old, we may never know.

We didn't get off for the rest of the time. Floors ten through fifteen were 'Quadrant Specific' and he didn't want to disturb the classes. Sixteen through nineteen were Restricted and the glass walls were blacked out. Twenty was a glorified wave pool with fake palm trees and twenty-one was a lush garden. The rooms became smaller and smaller as we reached the top. Floor twenty-two was nicknamed The Hall of Fame with pictures of all of the school's former students and the next was Detention. The Detention floor was also blacked out. Then at last we reached the roof and the superficial tour was over.

"If you're still confused, that's perfectly A-Okay!" said VP Slimz cheerily. "Your first month here is all about learning how the school works and how you fit in. After Level Placement, there's lunch and you will have the rest of the day to get to know your fellow classmates. Tomorrow you will report to Mrs. Driscoll on floor fifteen."

The elevator dinged.

"Quick rules to remember: intentional malicious behavior towards other students is prohibited, no using your powers outside of class, and don't reveal your last name. Good luck."

In the Gym, the platform was occupied by Coach Green. The lanky man stood there, showing off his 80's shorts in all their glory. I winced and looked away. Wow, did not need to see that.

Howard found it hilarious. "Aw man Cunningham, those shorts are so short he might as well be walking around in underwear!" I had to agree.

"Alright kiddies, shut your mouth holes and listen up! I am Coach Green, Power Trainer, and I'm here to test your abilities and find constructive uses for them. When I call your name, you are to stand up here, give a brief description of your power and demonstrate," he said with an English accent. "Observe. Super Strength and Invulnerability."

He then pressed a stylus to his electronic keyboard and a mechanical grinding noise came from the ceiling. We all look up in time to see a freaking boulder drop from a trap door. Before had had time to worry, Coach Green held the giant rock up with a single hand.

"Nothing to it."

A robotic claw grabbed the boulder and took it back. My other roommate besides Howard and Doug was very impressed.

"Wow did you see that?!"

Bash was less impressed. "I could do that in my sleep."

The Coach showed no sign of hearing either of their comments. "First up… Abigail!

She was the girl with glasses and braces. Abigail promptly made her way up to the platform and Coach Green stepped down.

"I can remember things scary good, Three point one four…" She then proceeded to recite the next thirty digits of pi and a slight lisp made all the S's sound like 'th'.

Coach stopped her from repeating all three hundred digits she knew, assigning her Enhanced Memory and Level 12.

"The way the hierarchy works here is Level 1 is the most dangerous of powers and 12 is the least. With some control, you may be able to move up a Level or two, but you will always be in the same Quadrant. Quadrants are three consecutive Levels. Levels 12, 11, and 10 make up Quadrant 4 and so on so forth," explained Coach Green.

I nodded, not really getting the Quadrant part. I suddenly realized the position I was in. I had no powers to show off so I'll be in the very bottom! Everyone will think I'm lame and Howard… he can turn into a giant bird! That's actually cool.

"Next… Bash."

"Get ready to be blown away by my awesomeness!" Bash shouted, not bothering to describe his power. Starting from his torso, his muscles grew and he became taller. Finishing at twelve feet, Coach dropped the boulder again and Bash ground it into pieces.

"Very good… Muscle Mass Enhancement, Level 7."

The next boy, Braedon, could change his height too, but he was still awkwardly thin. It didn't help that he was the shortest in the group and only grew to the height of an average person.

"Not bad. Size Manipulation, Level 9."

Finally, I learned the name of my other roommate: Bucky. He was almost as boring as Abigail; he could make small things triangle shaped.

"Shape Manipulation, Level 12. Ummm. Doug?"

Doug strode smugly onto the platform. "Mind Reading."

Howard gasped and covered his head. I groaned internally. Just great, we have the mind reader as a roommate?

"Tell us what I'm thinking," Coach said.

Doug took his sweet time responding. "I could tell you that, but I could also tell everyone what's underneath the school."

Coach was flabbergasted. "My, someone's been practicing," he laughed nervously. "Level 6."

Howard and I discussed what _could _be under the school while a few more students went. This distraction proved embarrassing when Coach Green had to call Howard's name multiple times before he heard. Kids snickered when Howard got on the Platform.

"Ha! You may be laughing now, but wait 'til you see this! I can turn into a demon bird!" Howard then spent the following five minutes looking constipated and managed a pair of tiny wings, a beak and a few feathers. Everyone was laughing harder, including myself and Coach. C'mon he looked ridiculous.

"Keep working on it Howard… Yokai Physiology, Level 9."

I was still teasing Howard as the next girl was placed.

"Aw man, you should have seen yourself! I thought demons were supposed to look scary, you looked-"

"Shuddup, it's more than you can do," retorted Howard.

"Ouch."

"Morgan."

She was the hot girl with the dolls! Unlike some of the others, she didn't seem nervous at all.

"I can control human figures," she said, voice monotone. The dolls jumped out of her pockets, each one no bigger than a hand. Howard and I moved closer to the platform for a better look. All five were girls and dressed similarly to their master.

"Haha! She plays with dolls!" mocked Bash. Morgan glared daggers at him.

"What about actual humans?" questioned Coach Green. She shook her head. "Too bad. Animation and Control of human likenesses, Level 6."

I zoned out, worrying again about what I would do when he called my name. Maybe I could fake it?

"Rachel." The cute girl with the stuffed animal.

I thought for sure I'd be next.

"Reginald." The boy who talked to himself.

"Randy."

Hooo boy. Students step aside, clearing the way to the platform. I stepped up and rubbed my hands together with a grin, pretending I know what I'm doing.

"Well… um… I don't really… have any?"

Confused faces stared at me. Coach Green quickly consulted his clipboard.

"Oh, you're that one. You'll be assigned Level 12 for now. Alright anyone else?" When no one volunteered, he pressed another button and the platform sank into the floor. "That's a wrap! You're all dismissed to lunch."

The Cafeteria was huge. The entire school eats lunch at the same time and I was dismayed to learn there was a single lunch line! I thought we'd have to wait forever, but service was surprisingly fast. The food looked like usual public school food, but the lunch lady was definitely not usual. Mrs. Dempsey had a _ton _of arms. Okay, maybe like eight. No wonder why the line was moving along, each hand held a ladle and she could fill two trays at a time.

Howard chose an empty table to sit at, probably still upset that he couldn't fully transform during Placement. Before I sat down, however, Bash and three guys not from our group walked over and knocked my tray onto the floor.

"Shoob!" Bash said, pointing to me and laughing.

When they left, I asked Howard what that word meant. He had never heard of it.

Turns out, they have made up their own slang here. 'Shoob' refers to a person without powers… and not in a positive way.

* * *

_a/n: My new goal is 3k+ chapters and don't worry! Theresa will be in this fic. This is just a little background, the good stuff comes next chapter. _

_Special thanks to _**yukiandkyo **_for being my beta and to _**youve-doomed-us-all-jerk **_on tumblr for suggesting characters powers_


	3. Chapter 2

_-Day of Dodgeball Game-_

We spent the rest of the first day playing Gave Puncher on the system and mini TV I brought. I know they said we were supposed to 'get to know people' or 'connect with your inner self', but playing videogames with Howard is a thousand times more fun. It didn't last long though. Doug and Bucky returned. We hid the evidence, but Doug is a mind reader _and _a tattle tale. Worst combo ever. The Robo-Apes confiscated everything. Ugh.

That was Monday.

The schedule is like this: breakfast, Mrs. Driscoll, Basic Studies, lunch and Power Class. After that is 'self-learning' because there are so many variations of powers there is no way to have a teacher for all of them. Howard and I usually go to the roof where he can practice full transformations.

Tuesday we went from breakfast to Mrs. Driscoll. She's crazy. She began with introducing herself… and her deceased husband. Her power, Reanimation, is illegal. However, she is the only Quadrant 1 the school has at the moment, so they let the thing with her husband slide. The only remains of Jerry Driscoll is his skeleton and part of his mind; he follows the elderly Marlene Driscoll everywhere, for it is his sole purpose in life (death?).

Since she has no students, Mrs. Driscoll is the Newbie, or first-months, teacher. Her job is to tell us the rules of MHS, how the 'grading' works, the school's history, and a brief overview of different types of powers.

At least, that's what she's supposed to do. All she did on Tuesday was tell us about Jerry.

"I fell in love with him forty-two years ago now. The Messenger found him in my third year of schooling and it was love at first sight. Wasn't it dear?" Mrs. Driscoll turned to Jerry.

"Quite right darling." The skeleton always agreed with whatever she asked him.

"He was in Quadrant 2 with Transmutation and I was just about to become a Level 2. After we both finished training, he stayed with me when I became the 1st Quadrant teacher. His first year of teaching 2nd Quadrant was when he died. Does anyone know what happened in 1978?"

She went on without allowing anyone to answer, even though Doug raised his hand.

"That's when all the trouble began…" To the class's dismay, she refused to explain and then continued to give an in depth history of their relationship before Jerry died. Frequently they would even kiss, which was seriously disturbing.

Basic Studies with Miss Zingwald is okay. It's just like regular school except we focus on a different subject each day of the week for two hours. Language arts on Monday, math on Tuesday and so on so forth.

Power Class is the best. Green encourages kids to use their powers in the whacky games he comes up with and the Assistant Coach and Defense Instructor, Mac Antfee, trains us how to fight without using powers. Green said it has something to do with not blowing your cover out in the real world.

Obviously Mac's teaching should be more helpful to me than games that usually almost get me killed, but he doesn't like me. Mac says cheating and playing dirty is just ambition, which I don't agree with. Braedon is his favorite. What Braedon lacks in natural height he makes up for in viciousness. I swear he has it out for me.

In fact, quite a few have an issue with me. At first, it was just Bash and his 3rd Quadrant buddies- Mick, Doug, and Ethan. Doug 8, not to be confused with my roommate (Levels are used as surnames if there are identical names) can imitate any type of material, Mick can literally eat anything and Ethan is elastic. Ethan is the worst, He's cruel _and _intelligent, whereas Mick merely does what Bash tells him and Bash isn't that smart. Doug 8 is pretty low key, he might even have a nice side.

I don't know any more specific people, but word must have spread because every once in a while someone will do something petty like trip me in the hallway. Bash's posse does the dangerous stuff, like suspending me in the empty elevator shaft.

Today, I can only be thankful that Bash's followers are not in Power Class. This Friday is the big dodgeball game and Mac chose the teams; they are not even close to being fair. All the good players are on the other team, including Bash, Morgan, and Braedon. Doug is on that team too, though I wouldn't call him a good player 'cuz he looks a little wimpy. We have Howard, Bucky, Abigail, the short guy with the unibrow and the cute girl had my eye on the first day.

Also, with the odd number, our team is down a player (9 to 10). It's not an inspiring situation. Howard and I have always been better trash talkers than throwers and the Levels on our team are low/useless.

After some quick instructions- the version is return dodgeball, powers are allowed, and the balls are impervious to state change- the game was on.

A single person from my team tried to snatch a ball from the center line and he was hit as soon as the opposing team got the rest of the balls. Mac blew his whistle from where he was stationed on the balcony a floor up.

Eight to ten. The slaughter has begun.

Players like Doug gave their balls to players like Bash. Bash grew to his full height, throwing the balls so fast it scared the pee out of Bucky whenever they came remotely close to him. Braedon changed his own height to avoid balls, which wasn't very often. Our underdog team was running around like headless chickens, the last thing on our minds was getting ourselves a ball. And I don't blame them.

BAM BAM BAM!

Mac blew his whistle twice.

"Howard! We gotta do something!" I yell over the screaming of my teammates.

Morgan's dolls, dubbed the Dancing Fish, chase after balls for her. She evades incoming balls with grace and throws her own with precision. Bucky's out.

"Like what?!" He yells back while using the player in front of him as a shield.

"Do your Tango thing and start hitting some people!"

A cheer goes up from our side as Abigail takes an opposing girl out and one of our players gets to come back. Bash retaliates by hitting the cute girl; she fumbles, trying to catch the ball, but ultimately failing.

Five to nine.

"First of all, it's _Tengu, _not honking tango," Howard replied irritably. I smile briefly at the use of the new slang we're picking up. "Second of all… what do we have to lose? Cover me Cunningham."

First, his eyes turn red. Then, wings that sprout from his back fuse with his arms and the feathers spread from there. In the end, he is at least as tall as Bash.

Howard is a quick learner, once he has the motivation to do something, he does it. After the slight humiliation on the first day, he wrestled with his inner demon and forced it to do his will. The drawback is that a full transformation won't last more than ten minutes.

The gym easily accommodates his large wingspan and he flies up. I toss him a ball and the team catches on. Tengu Howard has a thumb-like claw on his wings like a bat, at allows him to hold-and throw- things.

The plan works like a charm. Howard has more power in his throws than our entire team combined and his aim is decently accurate. Our opponents begin falling one by one, but it doesn't help much because Bash is the one who took out most of our team. He seems to know this. Bash blocks the dodgeballs Howard throws at him instead of trying to catch them.

The sidelines are going wild at the turn of events, Coach Green is smiling too.

Then Bash is the last one left, and he switches from defensive to offensive. Still with five players left, we realize we had run out of balls- they're all on the other side of the gym. Bash hadn't just been blocking, he was hoarding! I frown, that's a little too smart for him. I guess his power can increase brain size as well.

"I can't do this much longer!" Howard calls out, his voice deeper than usual since he's in bird form. He lands, not wanting to fall as a human from that height.

Bash takes a ball in each hand and steps up to the center line. We back up, powerless.

"Time to meet your maker, shoob!" He singles me out, arming winding back… I'm completely focused on dodging when movement catches my eye. Someone is in the bleachers at the top of the gym.

Bash throws it and I put my hands up, fearing the worst.

WHAP!

"I gotcha buddy." Howard rolls his eyes, mildly put out. I feel kinda bad, after all he was our only chance of winning. I'm still puzzling over the figure on the balcony though. A teacher perhaps.

Dodgeballs fly like bullets in the air as the entirety of the other team is let back into play. Mac blows his whistle twice again. Abigail's down, the other girl is down… I'm relying solely on instincts and Howard's shouted commands.

"To the right! To the left! Cha cha real smooth!"

Okay, that's probably revenge for getting him out. I bet he has that smug look on his face because _he actually got me to do that stupid dance thing jerk. _

The whistle shrieks once more.

The onslaught of balls slows; most the balls are on my side. The two others are rebounding off the wall behind me and returning to their owners. With nothing left to lose, I reach for one. It hits the tip of my fingers, but the momentum carries it out of my grasp… I catch it. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Come on!" Doug moodily stalks to the sidelines.

One against nine. The odds are not in my favor. I am mentally preparing myself to throw the ball when an alarm starts to blare.

"Code Green, I repeat Code Green!" VP Slimz's voice is frantic over the speakers. Shoot, I forget which one that is.

Mac has already disappeared and Coach begins to herd the class away to somewhere in the opposite direction of the elevator. I follow, casting one last glance at the balcony. The figure is poised on the edge of the railing… and jumps! Landing like the sixty foot drop was nothing, they make eye contact and vanish through a door I hadn't noticed.

"Yo Howard, did you see the ninja?" Clothed in all black (plus some red markings) with only the eyes showing? Definitely a ninja.

"See what?!" He shouts, handing covering his ears. The alarm isn't loud, but the high-pitched drone would drive anyone insane.

I can't let this go, it's like they wanted me to me to follow them. So I will. Without another word, I sprint to the door. It leads to stairs. I groan because I hate using stairs, especially when there's a bruce elevator I can use.

Light pours from another open door a floor down and I take the steps two at a time. I burst into the cafeteria just in time to see the black clad person hide behind an empty trophy case. The school's mascot is at the very top- a manticore.

I gotcha now…

One lonely trophy case sits at the back of the cafeteria. Normally, it would be filled with sport trophies or competition plaques, but we have to be kept secret. No competing with other schools because it wouldn't be fair. If we did though, we would be the McFist Manticores.

So why have shelving for it?

"Aha!"

But then no one is there. Silly me, of course you can't sneak up on a ninja.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing in here? Lunch finished an hour ago," a tall, dark man points out. He is wearing a white lab coat and a reflective visor hides his eyes. Next to him, a purple head-sized sphere floats, a design reminiscent of a skull painted on its front.

"I saw someone, he was just here- honest!" Mrs. Driscoll had told us about him, he is Viceroy, Head of Security! I'll be expelled for sure!

"You saw someone… during an intruder alert… _and you followed him?! _Of all the brainless…" Viceroy sputters.

I shrug. So that's what a Code Green is.

"Facial recognition… Randy 12. Hm. Tell me exactly what happened."

So I fill him in, perhaps with a few embellishments, but as soon as I said 'ninja' he took me straight to the principal's office. The alarmed stopped on the way there.

"Sir, there has been a security breach." Viceroy left me standing just inside the door.

"OF COURSE THERE HAS! THAT'S WHAT THE CONFUONDED WAILING WAS FOR!" Principal McFist fumes, face red as a beetroot.

The Head of Security is unfazed. "Just one intruder, in Records. Do you realize what this means?"

"Someone needed to use the only color copier?"

"No. Someone was trying to access student files!" Viceroy waves his hands like they could make his employer process the information faster.

"Oooooh."

"And this young man here saw the trespasser. Go on, tell him."

All eyes turn to me. Or I assume they do. Viceroy is a tossup. I'm slightly nervous, here are the two most important men in the school asking me for information!

"Umm, well he was wearing all black and had a mask on. Like a ninja."

"See! I told you this would come back and bite us in the butt! _They _have the suit now. I've known there's been a leak for years now, but I never thought…" Viceroy trails off, deep in thought.

"Why didn't you find this out sooner Viceroy!?"

They seem to have forgotten me. I half consider sneaking out now before someone thinks I need punishment for leaving class, but just what are they talking about?

"They block my cameras! Now He probably knows…"

They turn to me.

"You may go and I'll message Green so he knows you were excused on official business," states Viceroy. I can't believe my good luck!

The last words I hear before I shut the door are from McFist.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again Viceroy, it's too early for Him to know!"

I pass few others in my journey to the elevator. I figure the best move is to go to the dorms and find Howard. He probably wondered where I went… I'm sure he's there, no way he'd put in more work when it's almost the weekend.

Unfortunately, Howard wasn't the only one in our room. Teachers had instructed everyone back to their dorms while they conduct a thorough search of the building.

"Howard! You wouldn't believe what- Oh, Doug, Bucky… wassup?" I close the door quietly, looks like I interrupted something. Howard is laying on his back, feet resting on the wall; Doug's arms are draped over the top bunk's railing, and Bucky is sprawled on the floor, head propped up on a triangular pillow.

"Cunningham, where the juice did you go? Coach was so furious he said he'd give you a detention!" Howard admonishes, getting up to punch me on the arm.

"Cunningham?" Bucky repeats, confused.

"Oooo someone broke the no last name rule!"

"Shuddup Doug!" Howard uses a variation of our newest catch phrase. Doug uses his mind reading to spew useless information while simultaneously keeping the juicy stuff to himself.

"Viceroy said he'd excuse from class so I don't think I'll get detention," I say absentmindedly.

"What!? You ditched me _and _met Viceroy? Dude." Viceroy spends most of his time in the control room, so spotting him is a basically a bragging right.

"It's more than that, I swear I have a good excuse," I look not so subtly at our two roommates.

A thin smile stretches Doug's mouth. I bet he knows exactly what happened today.

"Bucky, plug your ears," commands Howard and Bucky obeys. "Spill."

"There was someone on the top bleachers during dodgeball, and then the alarm went off and that person was a ninja and I followed them to the cafeteria, then Viceroy showed up and-" My rambling comes to an end as Howard presses a finger to my lips.

"Less 'and', more complete sentences."

"The point is that there's a Ninja and Viceroy and the Principal thinking he's leaking information… to someone," I finish lamely, looking off into the middle distance.

Doug snickers. Okay, that sounded a lot better (and more ominous) in my head. Howard just nods along like he understood.

"Nice nice, but while you were ditching me, a girl from Quadrant 2 invited me out to a club tonight. News of my awesome Tengu form and superb dodgeball skills must have spread."

"Yo, you serious? What's it called?"

"Club Super Awesome Teen Time Club, it's in downtown Norrisville apparently," he holds up two rubber circles, "and I can bring a friend."

"Are you sure it's legit?" I grab one of the wristbands. The letters CSATTC were printed on the exterior. "It sounds fake."

"I'm sure. All we have to do is put them on and they'll instantly take us there. The club is exclusively for MHS students." Howard grins.

Suddenly, VP Slimz voice is once again projected from the loudspeakers.

_Happy weekend MHS! The first week of school is over! Now, let me remind you, no using your powers outside of the school. Have a safe weekend!"_

An upbeat tune starts to play and a muffled cheer can be heard through the walls. The past week wasn't half bad, but it's not over yet.

* * *

_a/n: Season finale was amazing I hope you got to see it. And thank you for all the positive feedback last chapter! Updates should now be every week between Monday and Tuesday. No editing this time, i may end up revising a few things after its posted_


	4. Chapter 3

_-Friday Night-_

Howard is over at my place by seven-thirty, already decked out in a light blue dress shirt, cuffs above his elbows, and a red fedora. Dangling on the chain around his neck is the little squid he's obsessed with; the only other adornment is a leather bracelet.

"Lookin' good H-man," I say before returning to the frantic search through my closet for something to wear. The only sure item I've decided on is my pants- black skinny jeans. However, they are the same pair I was wearing earlier because I'm too lazy to hassle with them.

"Very daring Cunningham, shirtless? Never thought you were the type."

I groan with frustration. "Of course I'm going to wear a shirt! I just need to find the right one."

So many T-shirts and hoodies, I thought I had at least one formal shirt…

"How about this one?" Howard reaches in and effortlessly pulls out a red button down like I haven't been searching for it for the last ten minutes.

"Perfect." I pull it on, leaving the top hole unbuttoned and rolling up the sleeves. "Ready to be the coolest?"

"Ready to be the second coolest?" Howard smiles and we pull on the wristbands.

Teleportation feels really weird, like small parts of me are somewhere else, yet still connected. Fuzzy and insubstantial, similar to a radio station that you can just make out someone talking, but the static gets in the way. After a few moments of dizziness, we're at the club.

It's huge! A disco ball six feet in diameter hangs from the ceiling and lights flash in time with the electronic, wordless music. In addition to the main floor, a staircase leads to two more levels of revelry. On the side are arcade games like skeeball and there appears to be a slushie machine with five flavors.

I wait for my eyes to adjust to the neon green, pink and blue walls, twisting around to get my bearings. The club is so big, it could fit everyone from school.

"This has to be exclusive, think of all the people who can't get in," I say to Howard. Obviously they can't give out bands to just anyone.

Howard scowls. "No, I'm pretty sure the entire school is here." As if to prove his point, even more people materialize around us. I recognize a few that I've also seen in the cafeteria.

"I don't see any first months besides us though," I offer helpfully.

Howard points to Morgan shaking her hips to the beat.

"So that makes three of us. At least Doug and Bucky aren't here, right?" This statement proves to be only partially true.

"I suppose. Hey look, free food." Howard spies a table with snacks and little drinks that are equally as colorful as the décor. I follow behind him dutifully, winking at the occasional girl who makes eye contact.

I wonder if the school knows about this place. I don't see a single adult (thus the word 'teen' in the name) and the no powers rule has been smashed to smithereens. Shapeshifting is the most evident, there's so many non-humans and half humans wandering around it's disorienting. Next I spot element controllers. A fire creator and a water manipulator are having a dance off in the middle of the main floor. No need for a fog machine with their clashing elements.

Distracted by the spectacle, I bump into a girl.

"Sorry," I mumble. When I take a better look at her, long brown hair and a green dress, I blink rapidly trying to clear my double vision. However, my eyes are fine; five copies of her laugh at me.

"Here." My best friend hands me a glass with pink liquid in it, his is green. I take a sip, grateful. The two hundred or so people have made the air too warm to be comfortable.

"Do you think we overdressed?" I ask. Everyone seems to be wearing casual clothes. Morgan hasn't changed since school.

"Nah. I mean, look at that guy."

Not too far from us a teen with dark blue hair is wearing a gaudy purple suit. An obnoxious top hat with a skull pin sits on top his head. I snort.

Noticing our gaze, he pushes through the crowd to us. "Is this your card?" He waves a 4 of hearts in my face.

"I didn't pick a card?" I puzzle. He repeats the same with Howard, but at that moment, I realize that there are four-not three- of us Newbies. "Nice meeting you… um…"

"Julian." Julian smiles, revealing two sharp canines.

"Julian. But some people who really don't like me are here, so see ya!" I dash to the best hiding place I can find- the slushie machine. Peering around it, I'm relieved to say Bash and his goons didn't see me.

"Hey," says a feminine voice behind me. I turn. Like me, she has purple hair, half of which is pulled back casually. The long yellow dress she's wearing is definitely not casual. I'm vaguely pleased to find another person dressed nicely.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't know this spot was…occupied. I'll be on my way then," I apologize. She didn't sound annoyed, now that I think of it, but she has her arms folded.

"No, stay. It's dangerous out there." Her voice is soft, the command sounding more like a well meant suggestion.

"Ugh I know. If Bash sees me here he'll try using my head for a skeeball or something," I chuckle mirthlessly.

"I meant _him_," she corrects, chewing her lower lip. Across the room, a nerdy kid with pink hair and glasses is touching people. Placing a hand on a shoulder too long to be friendly, the victim would collapse to the floor for no discernible reason.

The girl's not annoyed by me, she's nervous about that creep.

"What the juice, we gotta do something!"

"You'd really try and stop him? Even though you're a 12?" Her eyes are wide with surprise. "Wow, you're so brave Randy!"

"How do you know my name?" Though I wish it wasn't true, I'm not popular. Being known for your lack of coolness is not the best first impression. The only students who know me outside the nineteen are the ones who Bash has inspired to pick on me. She doesn't fall into either of these categories.

"Oh, you know, you're the only one without powers they've let into the school. That makes you kinda famous, right?"

I stand there, not quite comprehending what's going on.

"But there has to be some reason you got in… do you know why?" she continues, taking a step towards me.

"They said I would get my powers later, but enough about me. What about you?" I ask while peering around the machine. Touchy subject, I don't feel like going through my family history to someone I just met. Bash and company have moved closer, they're at the snack table, a mild panic has set in on the other side of the room, and I can't see Howard anywhere.

"I- I have Chlorokinesis. I control vegetation."

"What Level does that put you at? Six?" I guess.

"Umm… yeah. Six."

The panic escalates into chaos. The music has been replaced by awful guitar playing that can still be heard over the screaming. A quick glance shows me that the nerdy guy is the source of the horrendous noise. He's holding an electric guitar- and I don't mean one you plug into the wall, it's actually made of electricity- and the people closest to him are on their knees, fingers shoved in their ears. I think this is my cue to get the juice outta here.

"I have to go make sure my friend is okay, see you at school!" She's seems like a nice girl, a little nosy, but nice.

As soon as I try to move away though, another girl blocks my path. She's short, but her serious, no-nonsense expression gives the impression that she'd punch someone in the face and expect them to thank her.

"Debs! What about the plan?" exclaims the girl- I don't know her name. I can't believe I never got her name! Fine, I will call her plant girl.

"The plan wasn't working and there's no time left." The short one stalks up to me and like the smart person I am, I get trapped up against the slushie machine. My hand accidentally lands in the tray of sticky, lukewarm leftovers. "I am going to ask you a question and it's in your best interest to answer truthfully."

"What is this, the Inquisition?" I retort, hoping for a laugh. The short girl just sighs.

"Are you the Sorcerer's son?" Her eyes search mine.

"Umm, no?"

"_Are you the Sorcerer's son?" _She presses on more forcefully, eyes flashing gold.

I try to come up with a sarcastic answer –something about how she sounds like a parrot- instead, all I can say is, "I don't know."

"Useless! All the planning… the risks… for nothing!" She shoots me a dirty look. "How could the most powerful Magick have a Shoob son anyway? Let's go."

"That's not very nice," the plant girl glides over to her friend with an apologetic shrug. "I'm Theresa by the way!"

With a flash, they are gone and in their place, a cluster of small blue flowers remain. _Forget me nots_.

"Weird."

The guy with the electric guitar is contained in a bubble of water made by the water controller from earlier, though it looks like the party is over. Less than half of the students are still milling around, yet I cannot see Howard. By the table where I left him, only two girls remain.

"Ugh, who let Levander in? Remember what happened last time…."

I'm starting to get worried that he left me here, or that the nerdy guy got him. Walking by a bushy potted plant, a hand reaches out and pulls me behind it.

"Whaa?!"

Howard shushes me.

"Did I lose him?" His eyes dart frantically around the room.

"Lose who?"

"The magic tricking goth!"

"You mean Julian?" I laugh.

"You'd be hiding too if he'd been following you around for half an hour!" Howard's hands are gripping my shoulders.

"Sure. Now, how do we leave?"

Leaving Club Super Awesome Teen Time Club is the reverse of entering it, all we have to do is take the wristband off. Back in my room, I retell what happened while we were, yet again, separated. Neither of us can make heads nor tails of what it means. Howard goes on to complain that he never saw the girl who invited him.

Overall, today has been really strange. A ninja singling me out, the break into Records, strange girls questioning me about a Sorcerer… it can only mean one thing.

I wish I knew what that one thing is.

* * *

_-Monday-_

"Class, today we are going to begin covering the history of McFist High School," Mrs. Driscoll announces.

A few groans rise from the class. It's like having Basic Studies back to back! I hope she doesn't test us over every single important figure in MHS's century of existence.

"But in light of the events of last Friday, I think it would be best to start at thirty-four years ago, 1978. Notebooks and pencils away please." A flurry of movement answers her request. "In previous lessons, I explained the significance of the Quadrants and how very few with 1st Quadrant powers survive. There has been only one person with a Level 1 power enrolled in this school, and his power was… Demonization."

Howard and I exchange glances. This may be interesting after all.

"Complete control over another living being's body. Needless to say, the power went to his head. In 1978, he led his half human, half monster army on a rampage against the school… for absolutely no reason! None at all! Thankfully brave people like my Jerry," she pauses to caress his skeletal cheek, "were able to stop him, temporarily. From that fateful day on, he has been known as… The Sorcerer."

The lights flicker, causing Bucky to squeal.

"Braedon, sit in your seat!" says Mrs. Driscoll irritably. Braedon snickers, leaving the lights on he takes his seat in the back of the room.

"You aren't supposed to learn this until you are put in your Quadrant, but last Friday is thought to be the first of the yearly attacks made on the school by the Sorcerer. I assure you that you are completely safe, as long as you follow standard Code Green procedures."

Is it me or did she give me the stink eye?

"Now, I will tell you all about Jerry's heroic death."

Perfect time for me to tune out.

"Howard!" I whisper. It looks like he tuned out a long time ago. How many paper airplanes did he make for heaven's sake?

"If you're going to tell me that you think you are the son of an evil sorcerer… then I'm going to say you're crazy," he looks at me with blatant apathy.

"But it makes sense! The ninja must have been looking for someone and that girl- Debs?- even asked me if I was! Don't forget the school let me in because of my father."

"Well… let's say he is your dad. What then?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead, but I know what we're doing this afternoon. You up for taking a trip to the Hall of Fame?" I ask. It has pictures of everyone who has gone to MHS; I'd bet anything that the Sorcerer is there too.

Basic studies took forever to end. If Mondays weren't bad enough, math makes them even worse. During lunch, I looked for Theresa. Unfortunately, I was unable to spot her. However, Howard pointed out the girl who gave him the wristbands and she was none other than the mildly terrifying short girl! A strange coincidence.

Power Class resulted in no fewer than three injuries. Rock wall climbing combined with firefighter grade hoses in the hands of Mac Antfee was Coach's worst idea ever. Rachel- the girl holding the stuffed bunny on the first day- broke her arm.

By the time I was able to press the button to the 22nd floor, I was glad I still had uninjured fingers with which to push it.

"Between Power Class and the evil Sorcerer, I'll be surprised if we're all still alive at the end of the year," complains Howard, massaging his reddened hand.

"No kidding. Don't forget Bash," I add.

The MHS Hall of Fame must have thousands of frames, all lined up in neat rows and columns. Upon closer inspection, they are not ordinary pictures. Each one is a small computer screen that can switch between the student and their stats.

"How are we ever going to find him?"

"Don't look at me, I can't even find books in the library," says Howard.

After ten minutes of random searching, we realize the frames are ordered by Level. Sure enough, we find him on the other side of the room next to a young Mrs. Driscoll and a few others I do not recognize.

"Yeesh."

I have to agree with Howard. The Sorcerer- or Timothy as the fame says- is bald though he is my age, perhaps younger, in the picture. Golden brown eyes narrowed and mouth parted in a small smile make it easy to believe he was a troublemaker.

"That proves it, his eyebrows are purple, you're related," remarks Howard sarcastically.

"Purple isn't a natural color. Anyways I think it's just a trick of the light." It's true, he looks nothing like me, though everyone says I take after my mother.

"Don't sound so disappointed. Do you really want to be related to this guy? Demonization… that's pretty heavy and she said not many people survive powers like that…" he trails off.

"I know." But yet…

"Fancy seeing you here!" An obnoxiously familiar voice calls.

"Oh no," groans Howard.

Julian skips across the room, smiling.

"Hey Julian."

"Hello Randall, Howard. Did you enjoy the party last Friday?" The top hat and suit appears to be his daily outfit and it looks just as out of place now as it did then.

"Sure… if there hadn't been a psycho trying to kill us!" Howard throws his arms in the air.

Julian giggles. "Oh, that was just Levander. This is only his second year, he has not been able to control his tendencies to absorb all the energy from people."

Howard huffs, clearly done with the conversation.

"If you don't mind me asking, what power do you have?" One thing I love about being here is the variation of powers. From changing the colors of things (VP Slimz) to demonizing people, it's like a little kid's dream come true.

"Night Vision and Echolocation, but I am trying to become a world renowned magician. Let me get my cards…" He produces a pack from the interior of his purple overcoat.

Something clicks in my mind. Pale skin, dark hair, the gothic attire… fangs…

"Holy cheese, you're a vampire!" I take an involuntary step backward.

More giggling ensues. "Oh no, I wish, but," Julian curls his upper lip, showing off the teeth in question, "in Japan they're called _yaeba. _Very fashionable."

"Okaaaay then. We're going Cunningham." Howard drags me by a fistful of my hoodie back to the elevator.

"Bye!"

But yet… what if.

* * *

_a/n: ah I had a really hard time writing this chapter! Writer's block sucks. Credit to _**colorpencilsofdoom** _on tumblr for the idea for Julian's teeth. And of course thanks to _**yukiandkyo** _for being my beta. Your reviews make my day! :)_


	5. Chapter 4

_-Wednesday- _

"When I say go, split up into your future Quadrant number," says Mrs. Driscoll without further preamble. "Two there, Three over there, and Four with me." She pointed at opposite corners of the room, then at herself.

The process takes a few minutes. We shuffle warily to our designated areas, wondering what Mrs. Driscoll has up her sleeve today. Bucky stands next to me, desperately trying to return his pencil to its natural shape. If there's one thing I've learned over the past week and a half, it's that if you like something KEEP IT AWAY FROM BUCKY. Nothing inanimate is safe; not shoes, not phones and definitely not the dorm door. Triangles are my new least favorite shape. I subtly shift closer to Rachel.

"I'll be taking Levels 10 through 12 to the 10th Floor and come back shortly for the rest. In two weeks you'll be assimilating into your Quadrant permanently, might as well get to know them now!" She turns smartly in her heels towards the door.

I shoot Howard, who is in the other group with Bash, a panicked look. He looks equally uneasy. We're going to be separated! I didn't come to this school to be away from Howard for the rest of the year!

Seven of us are herded into the elevator. Another quirk about MHS is that there is always an elevator available. In addition to security, Viceroy operates the elevators. Though there is only one door, approximately twenty elevators are in service. He moves them around so it doesn't take hours to get from class to lunch. It explains up and down aren't the only motions felt during a ride.

Bucky, Abigail, Rachel, Reginald and two others I do not know are chattering away excitedly. Reginald excels in Enhanced Ventriloquism and Voice Mimicry, making him the worst comedian and practical joker ever. Rachel's power is still a mystery to me.

The ride jerks to a halt.

The 4th Quadrant floor is a fairly basic set-up, similar to a normal school. Long hallways with adjoining classrooms. I'm mildly disappointed after seeing Mrs. Driscoll's 1st Quadrant floor. She has only one classroom and a large door that we are not allowed through. Whatever is behind it warrants two undead guards, so it must be pretty bruce. Surely this floor should be more customized? Filled with wondrous secrets of its own?

VP Slimz, who is also the 4th Quadrant teacher, leads the way. As we pass by the doors to the classrooms, I notice name tags on each of them. We take a left and the hallway opens into a commons. Forty or so heads turn to face us.

"Alright," VP Slimz claps his hands together, "get into groups of four or five, one Newbie per group."

I scan the group and spot an increasingly familiar face: Julian. I don't mind him, he's kinda strange and clingy, but nice. However, I still duck behind Abigail in hopes that he won't notice me.

"Randall, we meet again!"

I laugh dryly. "Small world and all that…" Randy isn't short for anything, especially not Randall. His name changing is not as bad as Heidi's though; Mandy is a girl's name! I digress.

"Come, you absolutely must see my room!" Julian hooks his arm around mine. I search frantically, hoping someone will put a stop to this.

"But VP said we need to be in groups." While valid, the protest sounds weak, even to me. I have a feeling that Julian does what he wants and no one bothers to stop him. Despite his assurance that he is not, in fact, a vampire, the goth look is kind of unsettling.

"I am Quadrant leader, rules do not apply to me," he says, leading me through the hallways. "Anyway, I'd rather not anyone else see this."

His giggling is becoming more maniacal than harmless and innocent. What otherworldly being have I upset to make Julian take a liking to me, of all people?

Finally, he releases me in front of a heavy wooden door his name on it. The small window is dark, keeping the contents of the room hidden.

"Oi, Julian. You have a dorm right? Why do you have a room here too?" Now that I think of it, there are so many rooms on this floor, and VP Slimz is the only teacher. Something isn't adding up.

Without a word, he opens the door, extending an arm through the entrance with a bow. The room remains dark and I'm hesitant to walk in first. But I do.

When the door clicks shut and the lights still do not turn on, I take a step back. Meaning to find the door, the wall, anything to anchor me, but I'm already turned around. My eyes don't adjust, it's as dark as the bottom of the ocean. Fear of the unknown grips me. What if I never see again?

A firm hand grasps my shoulder.

"Not that way- unless you want to lose your head."

Julian.

I'm not alone and I'm still in school. Yet a sinister feeling lingers.

"What is this place?" I ask.

A soft, green glow outlines his face. "My worst nightmare. We all have our separate rooms, built to train us, encourage us to improve." His voice is light and airy, as if remarking upon the weather.

The green light pierces the darkness, illuminating sharp, deadly objects. A blade swings back and forth, like a pendulum in a clock, right where my head might have been if I had taken another step back. All is eerily silent.

"Every day, I must endure hours of hidden surprises, one mistake and it's all over," he cackles.

"But you can see in the dark." It's hardly reassuring, the blades change heights and locations. It would be a challenge with proper lighting.

"Not when I first came here." Julian's thin lips are pressed into a grim smile. "If I had not found this, I would no longer be with the living."

The source of light is a ball roughly the size of a baseball, green liquid swirling inside. On an impulse, I reach out to touch it. It shocks my finger.

What kind of school forces kids into rooms with booby traps straight out of a bad action/adventure movie!? It's sick. And I… I go here too. What kind of room will I get in two weeks' time?

Julian leans close to me, the orb held between our hearts. His pale skin reflects the green light. "Leave while you can, Randall."

I'm spooked more than I'm willing to admit. When he opens the door, I sprint out as fast as my long legs can take me. Weaving through other groups visiting the rooms, I retrace my steps back to the elevator.

I need to find Howard. If this is what happens to the lowest of ranks, what is my best friend facing?

The door swings open, not to the elevator, but to the stairs the ninja showed me. Floors 10 through 15 are for quadrants so I assume Howard is one up. My feet pound against the steps, mind racing. The possibilities of what I might find are endless.

The 11th Floor is bright. Grudgingly I have to take a moment to get used to the strange setting. A walkway angled upwards connects my position to a hovering platform, independent of the neon green walls and floor against all reason. Maybe a hundred figures are moving about with ease there.

The further I tread the more dangerous the drop over the edge becomes. Aren't building inspectors a thing? No handrails on this walkway is a serious hazard.

Nearly exhausted from the sharp incline, I make it to the platform at last. Everyone appears to be practicing fighting stances. I have to duck the occasional punch that comes my way, you would think they'd notice me…

"Howard! Where are you?!" I call, but no one answers. The students carry on, ignoring me. Then I spot them, silver bands encircling peoples' heads.

Mind control.

I continue my search, a knot of anxiety forming in my stomach. Did they submit to this willingly? I would think not, so what hope do I have of escaping the same fate? Poor, powerless Randy Cunningham… can't save himself let alone his friend…

Something grabs my ankle.

"Ooof!" My feet slip out from under me and my palms hit the firm floor, narrowly saving my face from also hitting it.

"Looks like we have a visitor!" Ethan's elastic arm drags me by the ankle to Bash's feet. Mick is on Bash's right and Ethan is on his left, all three are holding their silver bands. Doug 8 is still fighting imaginary foes.

"Just looking for a friend. You haven't seen-" I'm silenced by Bash's foot slamming me in the back as I tried to get up.

"Bash'll be doing the talking around here, shoob." He grinds his heel in for good measure. "Now, do you know what we do to people who don't belong here?"

"You let them go and wish them a nice day?" I'm stalling. I can't run. Bash is much larger than me and I'm outnumbered.

Mick snickers. In return, the muscles in Bash's arm ripple and Micks gets a hearty punch in the face. Like a bowling ball, Mick's meaty form tumbles and knocks a few silver-banded people down with him. Just beyond them, I can see Howard.

At first I'm amused, feathers are poking out of his bright orange hair. It's a quirk of his when he becomes frustrated. However, there is no time to waste. He is my priority and a delay with these goons could mean losing him again.

"Get out of my way," I say with as much authority as I can muster. Hard thing to do when you're lying on your stomach.

"Oh yeah? Make me." Bash laughs, Ethan joins in uneasily.

"I said, geT OUT OF MY WAY!" With all my strength, I try to throw him off, but to no avail. Strangely enough, I feel a sort of energy travel from my fingertips, up my arm and down my spine.

Bash howls.

Flipping over, I witness the horror. His veins are glowing green beneath his skin and he's growing at an unchecked rate. Once again, I remember Howard.

Scrambling to my feet, I rush to him and rip the band off.

"Hey! Cunningham?"

More are taking their bands off, finally noticing Bash's predicament.

"We have to get out of here bro. There's these freaky rooms, and you were being mind controlled!" I tug at his arm.

My friend adopts an angry expression. "This is a simulator! Like a big video game. We were just beating up some monsters in an alleyway, of our own free will! Look, a green screen!"

"Ooooh." That makes sense. The walls act as green screen, the bands recognize their wearer's movement and project enemies to defeat. Actually, it seems really bruce.

"And now you've gone and wonked it up!" His voice reverts to its usual unimpressed tone. "What's up?"

"I might've gained some powers and used them on muscle monster over there." My tone is equally as cool. Inside though, I'm freaking out. In a good way.

Bash is quite hideous now, which is saying something. His arms are too big for his body, legs much too short. Not to mention he's screeching like a cornered animal, swiping at anyone who comes near him.

"Nice."

We fist bump.

"Hey!" The crowd parts for a pot-bellied, older man: Mr. Bannister, the 3rd Quadrant teacher. "Cass, tell Smith about this immediately. Then the Principal and Viceroy if you can."

A girl zooms away, fast as lightening.

"Does anyone know what happened?"

"Whelp, time to go Cunningham." He directs me towards the door.

I scoff. "_Now _you want to go."

Before we leave, Bash utters a final promise, words distorted like his face.

"Bash swears, _mlmph, _revenge!"

The bully was sent to the infirmary and was absent the rest of the day, and the next. It was the talk of the school, yet no one knew who did it. Looks like Mick and Ethan didn't speak up.

I'm moving up in the world at last.

* * *

_a/n Sorry about the delay, I needed to plan more of this sucker out. And the next chapter will be great, I promise. The next scene with S Ward Smith is kinda important and I don't want to rush it. Thank you_** yukiandkyo** you were a big help this chapter!

_Side note, if you're going to write something blatantly similar to my stuff at least give me a heads up. _

_Also, nothing is what it seems :)_


	6. Chapter 5

_-Friday-_

"Last lap! Move move move!" Mac Antfee bellows, trailing behind us on his Segway. I would complain about the situation to Howard, but I need to save my breath to finish the tenth lap around the gym. And this is only the beginning; every class with Mac starts with warm-ups. Running laps, jumping jacks, stretches and push-ups are all on the agenda. Then he moves on to the main activity, usually an obstacle course of some kind.

Though the 'no powers' policy levels the playing field, the rest of his teaching methods are wonk. Where Coach Green encourages teamwork, Mac teaches that no one else matters- thus his blind eye towards cheating. As he says, anything goes as long as you're not caught. And his favorites never get caught.

"Alright, that's enough! Line up by the wall."

Howard and I double over, hands on our bent knees, to catch our breaths. Poor Howard, that was hard for me and I'm in shape.

Howard admires Mac's skill, though is unhappy with the amount of exercise he makes us do. He said it's be so much easier if he could turn into the Tengu. Personally, I think Mac is bitter about only having Prescience and body language analysis as powers. They make him useful in hand-to-hand combat, but not very powerful.

We line up, some more slowly than others. I glance at Bash, he's been burning holes in my back ever since he got out of the infirmary. His body is back to normal, but he's been excused from Power Class. Bash's glare intensifies when he catches me watching and I can still feel his gaze as I switch my attention to Mac.

"Who's ready for a competition!" Mac booms, pumping a fist. Few of the answering cheers match his enthusiasm. We all know about his competitions; if you aren't willing to win at any cost then it's going to go badly for you.

Mac presses a combination of button on the remote and chunks of the wall perpendicular to the one we're by slide out. He calmly ascends them to the lowest balcony.

"The goal is to reach the end of the maze…" Metal dividers rise from the floor and separate all of us. Then it continues build itself, spreading outward with a mind of its own. "in one piece."

I groan. Mazes have never been my thing. We used to visit the pumpkin farm when I was younger and it had a corn maze. I always used the map; I'm hopeless otherwise.

"In addition to some surprises, if you run into an opponent you'll both be trapped until one is over-powered. Use what I've been teaching you, not your powers."

A final cluck echoed through the gym. The maze is ready.

"Last, but not least, there's a special prize for the un-winner who finishes last: an hour long private lesson with me… after school."

A round of complaining ensues. How cruel and unusual can this get? I can't decide whether fighting my classmates or staying after school is worse.

"Ready. Set. GO!"

My first choice is straight or left. I crane my neck to see which is best, but the walls are too tall.

"Eenie meanie miney moe… straight," I mutter. The next few crossroads I choose by checking to see if anyone is there. If I can't win this with strength, I might as well be stealthy.

Morgan runs past my hiding spot to the right, so I turn to the left. Suddenly, the maze changes. A wall slides in front of me and behind me- I'm trapped. Looking to Mac, I understand. He's manipulating the whole thing.

Pounding a fist against a wall, it opens and I'm face to face with Bucky. I reluctantly put up my fists. I don't want to fight anyone, but I will defend myself. Bucky quails.

"Um, please don't hurt me zing!" he falls to his knees, raising his hands defensively. "Not in the face…" With that, he collapses into a faint. The maze opens again.

It's not long before I run into another. Rachel claimed she is a pacifist, so we staged a scuffle ending in her winning.

Despite what Mac said about surprises, the only additional features to the maze were moving walls, rotating floor pieces and trip wires. Just enough to keep me on my toes. Of course, being careful also means being slow. I'm hiding from Mac whenever I can too. At least half the class has made it out and I really do not want to be last.

I wonder where Howard is. Besides Bash, he's the last person I want to meet in here and Bash isn't even participating. (Actually he's up with Mac.) I mean, Howard and I have play wrestled before, but this is different.

After a couple more turns, the maze widens into a circle with many converging paths. I bet anything that this is the center. Pounding footsteps echo down one corridor, so I run across the circle and choose a path at random. Unfortunately, Braedon has chosen the same path.

We're boxed in together. His freckled face is fierce and he does some practice punches and kicks for show. Oh come on, without his powers Braedon is half my size!

"Look Braedon, I'm not gonna-" I begin, but the midget honking jumps on my back, pulling my hair and throwing me off-balance. Fruitlessly, I try to pull him off. It doesn't take long for him to make me fall over.

With no chance to escape, Braedon finishes me off with a belly flop.

"Sucker!" The malicious kid runs off. I know, I'm just fourteen, but he's at least two years younger than me so I can call him a kid.

I take a minute to regain my breath. Maybe nobody saw that… kinda embarrassing. But before I can continue my journey through the maze, the dividers sink into floor, leaving me facing the entire class.

"Looks like Johnny Nice Wad here is the last one out," Mac points out, not the least bit surprised.

I hang my head in shame. Stupid Braedon. Stupid Mac. I'm trying, I really am.

Mac calls the training session to an end. Everyone curves around me to head back to the locker room to change out of the custom gym uniforms. Some powers don't react well with clothing. I wait for Howard.

He looks up at me as he passes, saying nothing. I don't follow. He should have at least grouchily reminded me how much this messes up our weekend plans. Then I could make it up to him with food and we'd laugh it off. What do I say now?

Realizing my absence, Howard returns. Looping an arm around my waist, about the only area he can comfortably reach, he spurs me on.

"You suck."

I wince. "I know."

"At mazes, at confrontations, and at keeping out of trouble." He drops his arm.

"Oi, I'm not in trouble! It's just extra practice with Mac-"

"Which you need."

"-and while he may not like me, it's not trouble," I finish, entering the locker room behind him.

"Not Mac, Bash. Not sure what you did to him, but he was totally plotting your murder in class."

I tug my casual shirt on. "Well he better get on it or the session with Mac might beat him to it."

We laugh, though it's not something to joke about. Payback is much more serious and deadly here.

* * *

Howard suggests that we spend the beach on the 20th floor. We hadn't gone there yet because we had been too busy lazing around in our dorm and getting food from the cafeteria. Donning our swim trunks- mine red, his blue- we make our way to the elevator.

"How did it go for you in the maze?" I ask.

"Eh, I met Abigail and Reginald. They were easy to defeat. Morgan on the other hand, she is as deadly as she is beautiful," he sighs wistfully.

"So you had no problem fighting friends for the amusement of Mac?" I can't shake the feeling that he gets a kick out of all this. I understand why we need to practice self-defense, but the way he does it feels wrong.

"None at all."

The door dings and acrid chlorine assaults our senses. A chemical blue wave pool fills half the room; the other is spattered with towels laid out on the warm sand. Overhead lights provide the illusion of a warm day in July.

"Whoa, are those real?" Howard wonders, staring at lush palm trees.

A few dozen other students are enjoying the room, swimming, tanning, or playing beach volleyball.

Naturally, the first thing Howard wants to do is jump off the ten foot high diving board. We fill the hour with finding the most creative ways to dive into the water. My best was a backflip, something he cannot hope to replicate. He tops it with a transformation mid-jump. The tidal wave his Tengu form unleashed causes us to be kicked out of the room.

All too soon I have to return to the gym. The final bell rings and while most others leave, I have to beg Howard to stick around. He's my ride and if I wait for my mom it would be another hour after the lesson.

"Just tell your dad to pick us up in an hour. It'll give you time to work on the basic studies homework."

I'm currently packing all my belongings into a suitcase. Doug spends the weekends here and I don't trust him not to go through things.

"But I don't wanna do homework! I'd rather take a nap at home," Howard replies, emphasizing his point by sprawling out on the bunk.

"Then take a nap in the gym, just don't leave me alone with the psycho!"

He whines pitifully. "Fiiine. Help me up."

I know he is perfectly capable of getting up himself, but I help him anyway. We lock hands and I drag him to his feet.

"After you." I pull open the door with an overly cheery attitude. He snickers.

As we turn a corner, I notice a couple of teens hanging out by the elevator door. That's weird, I've never seen a line before.

Maybe if I had paid more attention we wouldn't have been surrounded by my new archenemies- Bash front and center, Mick and Doug 8 on the sides, and Ethan closing in behind us.

"So you thought that was funny?" Bash cracks his knuckles. "Trespassing on Bash's floor? Messing Bash up? I think we need to teach this little Leftover his place."

Mick chuckles, his crooked teeth looking for all the world like tombstones.

"Told ya," Howard whispers, referring to our conversation at the end of Power Class. We stand back to back.

"Hold up, I got this," I respond. Then I address Bash, "You really want to do that? Looks like you need to learn something yourself." I spread my arms like I'm asking for a hug. The flash of fear on his face is all I need to know that I got my message across.

"Grab him!" Despite their trepidation, Mick and Doug each take hold of an arm, pushing Howard away.

"You don't concern us, run along." Ethan dismisses my friend.

I try to summon the spark I felt last time, but I feel nothing. Panicking, I struggle in their grasp.

"Not so tough now, are you? I hope you're not afraid of the dark," Ethan says. Knowing glances are shared amongst them.

"We're gonna take you down to the Basement, where freaks like you belong," Bash adds, more confident that I have no control over my powers.

They start dragging me to the elevator doors, because of Mick's height only my toes are touching the floor.

"Let Cunningham go," Howard scrambles in front of Bash, fingering his charm, "or else."

Bash doesn't even break his stride, backhanding Howard with a quickly transformed fist. In the quiet commons, I hear a _chink _as my friend hits the tiled ground. I crane my next to see if he's alright, he's not getting up.

Bash's finger hovers over the button when the elevator dings. Of all people, the girl with the wristbands walks through! She rolls her eyes.

"Level 6, Truth Inducement. Put him down," she speaks calmly, as if this happens on a regular basis. Mick, Doug, and Ethan rush off, unceremoniously dumping me. Bash towers over her, flexing his muscles threateningly. The staring contests lasts but a minute and he backs down first.

"You won't be around forever, Debbie," spits Bash, sliding into the unoccupied elevator.

"I had it covered," I say when the doors close.

"If you say so," she shrugs and brushes past me.

I gawk, then jog to catch up to her. "You can't just leave! I have some questions…"

"Look, just because I saved your cheese doesn't mean-"

Howard groans. He's sitting with his hands pressed against his skull like he's having a terrible headache. Debbie temporarily forgotten, I kneel at his side. The marble sized ball dangling from his neck has a deep crack.

"H-Howard, you still there buddy?" I'm tempted to rest a hand on his shoulder, but he had warned me a takeover was a very real possibility.

"Go away."

Good, he still sounded like himself. I sense Debbie approach, strange since she had seemed so keen on leaving. This time I do touch his shoulder, I can't leave him lying here. Maybe if I can get him back to the room we can figure out what to do from there.

He jumps up and backs away with a hiss, eyes red. I stumble back into Debbie.

"What's wrong with him?" she exclaims.

I groan. "He's kinda possessed by a demon bird and that necklace," I vaguely wave in its direction, "is the only thing keeping Howard in control."

"You need to get him to Smith. He and his apprentice fix artifacts and might have something sturdier than a glass bauble. Think you can coax him into the elevator?"

After a few minutes of begging and food bribes, I finally lead him into the confined space. The short girl did absolutely nothing to help.

"Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but I have access to the forbidden floors." She presses the '18' button. "Don't go anywhere besides his door and then don't touch anything. It's dangerous."

I silently pray that bag of chips doesn't run out before we reach the 18th floor. Handing them to him one at a time, it keeps him from pouring the whole thing in his mouth. Unfortunately, I could only afford one bag from the vending machine.

Besides her warning, she made no effort to carry on a conversation.

"So about the Sorcerer thing…." I start.

"Forget about it," she says forcefully, "it'd be safer for both of us if you forgot what you heard."

"Okay… what about Theresa? I haven't seen her around." I flip a broken chip at Howard.

"Forget about her too. She doesn't go here."

We're halfway up, just passing the 10th Floor. Howard isn't getting any worse, but three quarters of the bag is gone. I break chips in two.

"Maybe you could explain the lingo then? I've been called a lot of names in the past few weeks." Mostly by her and Bash, however I don't point that out.

Sighing in resignation, she answers my question. "As you should know, the school is divided into four quadrants."

I nod.

"1st Quadrants are called Magicks, 2nd are Controllers, 3rd Morphers. The nicknames basically are the typical type of powers in that Quadrant. Bird boy here is a Morpher."

Howard, though he may be more Tengu by now, perks up when she mentions him.

"And Quadrant 4?" I inquire.

Debbie shrugs. "They're the Leftovers, quite literally."

"And powerless ones are shoobs." I pout. By calling me a Leftover, Bash acknowledged that I might have powers, but the name is not flattering.

"Could be worse."

The elevator dings.

"What could be worse than no powers?" I back out of the doors, waving the second to last chip in Howard's face. I swear he chirps.

"Let's hope you don't have to find out."

* * *

_a/n *sighs* I've been going through some rough stuff lately… won't go into it. But at least I got the chapter done before school starts! Speaking of which, idk when I'll be able to update next. Also, anyone mind if I switch to third person? First is so limited it's killing me_


	7. Chapter 5 part 2

_-Friday, after school-_

Randy wanted more, better quality answers from Debbie, but now was no time to pursue them. His friend was becoming more agitated by the minute, as if sensing the snacks were almost gone. Knowing two chips could not last the long corridor in front of him, Randy tossed one to Howard and ran like hell.

Desperately looking for the Artifact Restorer's shop, Randy noticed multiple rooms with science-y looking equipment. No one was in the labs so his passage went unnoticed.

Randy sped up when angry squawking erupted behind him. Holding the last chip high, he reminded himself that the thing chasing him is still human and not, in fact, a rooster for example. Back when he was four, he had been chased by a rooster at a petting zoo and had feared them (and chickens) from then on.

Barely noticing the door in time, sneakers squealed on the tiled floor as Randy changed course. In his panic, the handle took longer than usual to turn. Randy spared one glance over his shoulder and saw that his friend was not as human as he had thought when the door swung in. Scrambling to his feet, a startled, nondescript young man gawped at him.

"Hi," Randy said awkwardly before sliding under a work table.

A gangly creature followed the boy into S. Ward Smith's work shop. Not quite bird, not quite human, the entity born of Howard's body was a mix of both. Clawed wings swept cluttered talismans off shelves and from its beak high pitched screeches deafened the onlookers.

Randy feebly tossed the chip to the other side of the room where it broke upon impact. The other boy sprang to life, having been trained to react in a similar situation for years.

"Infected!" he cried. Liquid metal shooting from his sides like extra arms, it wrapped around the writhing bird-thing and chained it to the ground. The metal solidified, still connected to its host.

A black man came running from a different room, a cane in hand.

"Don't hurt him!" Randy had no idea that things would get messy this quickly. "He's a friend, we came here for help."

The duo regarded him skeptically.

"Really, his amulet is broken."

"Boopus, you led an Infected to one of the most important places in the school!" The older man prodded the creature his cane.

"Howard's not infected!" He wasn't sure of the word's meaning, but felt it was safer if he denied the accusation. Then again, was calling him possessed any better? Growling, Randy ducked the outstretched arms and boldly grabbed the amulet. "It's cracked, see?"

The Tengu strained against his confines.

"You've got guts kid, call me crazier than a crambit, but I believe you," the old man chuckled. "I'm Smith, that's Brent."

Brent grunted.

"Get me the replicant," Smith commanded.

Randy wondered why Smith didn't get it himself, Brent had his hands full. Then he noticed the darkened glasses, couple with the cane…

"Oh, you're- I mean… the thing with your eyes-"

"Blind?"

"I'm so glad you said it not me; that would have been awkward." Randy rubbed the back of his neck. "So what does infected mean?"

"Shut your yap and let me work." Snatching a bottle from another hand-like metal outgrowth of Brent's, Smith started the repair.

Randy let his eyes wander to the interesting contents of the room. Many glass things were smashed on the floor. On intact shelves there were antique weapons, books, bottles, and trinkets. He was drawn to the shining swords; they looked straight out of medieval times. Winding through large wooden tables filled with tools and unfinished projects, Randy's foot bumped into something.

Rolling across the floor was a green orb. In fact, there was a few of them.

"Would ya look at that." Randy bent over to pick it up. Before he could touch it though, the end of a cane smacked his hand. "Hey!"

"What do you think you're doing?! These are dangerous! Out, out, out!" Smith made shooing motions.

"How did you…?"

"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I don't know what you're doing."

Randy was relieved to find his friend steadily recovering, the crack repaired. Brent had also returned to a normal human form.

Gathering the orbs with gloved hands, the old man aligned them on a rack and placed them out of reach.

"You okay?" asked Randy.

"Sure, except for this awful headache."

"Now I don't know who let you in here, but this area is off limits and you must leave. Brent, see them out." Smith gestured to the door with his cane.

Brent rolled his eyes. "C'mon…"

"Wait! You never told me what it meant!"

"What what meant?" Howard asked, confused.

"Infected? No one has told you?" Both shook their heads. "What are they teaching kids these days… Have you at least heard of the Sorcerer? Good. The Infected are the Sorcerer's minions. Using demonization he turns powered kids into hybrid monsters. They attack the school, always adding more to their ranks. Pray there is not another Code Green for a looong time."

* * *

_-10 minutes earlier-_

"Sir, there's something I need to show you," Viceroy rapped softly on his boss's door.

"It better be good news," McFist replied moodily, slowly spinning in his office chair. He had been put out since the incident with his step-son. Marci had been inconsolable, blamed him for everything. Happy wife, happy life. Hannibal was spending extra hours at work to avoid going home.

"Not quite. Otto."

The robot projected a live security feed. Two students were on an unauthorized floor, the laboratories.

"What in the blue blazes are they doing there!? Viceroy take care of this at once!" McFist pounded a fist on his desk.

"No experiments are ongoing currently, we're fine. What I wanted to show you is this." The frame stilled and zoomed in on the closing elevator doors. The figure was blurry, but identifiable. "I think we may have found our leak."

"Good. Good. But speaking of experiments, have you discovered why Bash lost control of his powers? You said he was a success and you know how important that is…"

"Yes I do know. However, the results came back and his system is functioning normally. This leads me to believe it was the work of an outside force, particularly, our little secret." Viceroy grinned slyly, proud of his ability to always have the answers.

"The robots?"

"No, Randy Cunningham!"

"Who?"

The scientist calmed himself before answering. A yelling match with McFist was no contest at all.

"The leverage against the Sorcerer."

"Oh yeah. What did he do?"

"I am… not sure." Viceroy frowned. "By all accounts he should not have powers and yet…" The recording had been too far away and it was too crowded to see what had transpired.

"Then figure it out!"

Viceroy took the exclamation as a dismissal and turned to leave.

"And Viceroy, did you know some students are running around in the labs?"

* * *

_a/n sorry it's so short, school is killing me. How do you like the 3__rd__ person? Also, I'm working on a thing for Halloween that I want to be about 5k long, it's a ghost au ;)_

_ps Brent has Metal Mimicry as a power_


	8. Chapter 6

_-Saturday-_

Despite the initial craziness and ominous warnings, Brent and Smith were pretty cool people in Randy's opinion. Brent was a bit of a whiner and complained when Smith forced him to help with clean up along with the perpetrators. However, Randy was seriously jealous of Brent's abilities. During Howard's rampage, it had been hard to figure out what Brent was doing. Brent was more than a little smug when he said he was basically a cyborg and could transform any part of his body into metal, then control its appearance.

S. Ward Smith's powers were less exciting- Metal Manipulation and Enhanced Crafting. It allowed him to make weapons, armor, and artifacts flawlessly. Brent had just started his 5th year as Smith's apprentice and their services were invaluable to the school. Because every school has an armory, duh.

Needless to say, Randy never made it back to Mac's lessons. Both the boys kinda forgot after the hard manual labor. Or so they say. The majority of the work Brent had to do because they were not authorized to handle the damaged artifacts.

They made up for the drudgery the next day by going to their favorite hangout, Greg's Game Hole. The Game Hole had all the latest arcade games and a snack bar. Run by an apathetic man named Greg, it was a favorite hangout for many of Norrisville's teen population.

"I miss this place. Where else can you be fully entertained for twenty bucks an hour?" Howard leaned back in the plastic chair, slurping the icy remains of a soda.

"Probably a lot of places," Randy stated. In the summer, they could blow money like nobody's business.

"Can we go to Charlie Cluckers after this?" asked Howard.

"We just ate here!"

"I know, but I'm still hungry." Howard tossed the empty cup into the trash.

"Of course you are. Look, I don't have any more cash, but if you want to come over for dinner I'm sure my mom will be cool with it," compromised Randy.

"Your mom's cooking is the bomb, count me in."

Not quite done gaming for the day, they decided to head back to Randy's home where the entertainment and food was relatively free. Neither looked forward to the long bike ride back to the suburbs. All their parents were too busy to drive them to the arcade and Heidi's license wouldn't allow her to drive two people yet. The Game Hole was closer than McFist High, but still deep in the city.

"What the…?"

Outside the Game Hole, the two boys could hear car alarms blaring from a few blocks over. That in itself was not unusual, but there was smoke rising too.

"Car accident?" came Randy's best guess.

"Who knows? Let's get going; the sooner we get there, the sooner I can see what's in your kitchen cabinets," Howard grunted, mounting his bike.

They rode away from the disturbance, but the noises did not fade. Horns were honking, brakes squeaking, glass shattering, the telltale signs of mayhem and destruction were coming closer.

"Police chase?" Randy guessed again.

Curiosity got the better of them. Norrisville had a fairly low crime rate and whatever was happening was obviously exciting. Randy almost missed the action; he was expecting a line of cars to zoom by, instead a small party on foot was making their way down the opposite sidewalk. A very familiar figure was fighting off a group of silver… robots?

"Howard! That's the ninja I was talking about!" The ninja had two swords and he was making short work of the bipedal robots. The robots looked human, but had featureless faces.

"No kidding. This would make such a sweet videogame. A playable ninja with awesome weapons and robot opponents! It needs to be a thing," mused Howard.

The ninja decapitated the last robot and turned to face them. Randy worried that they were the next targets. Running across the four lane road, the ninja jumped over any cars in his way. The black suit was ripped in a few places, red blood contrasting against pale skin. The wounds were irritating, but did not slow the warrior.

Unease kept the teen boys silent. The ninja was not tall, only having a couple inch advantage over Randy. However, his eyes were dark and serious. With a gaze like that, who needs swords to cut something to pieces?

"Hail, son of the Sorcerer," presumably, the ninja spoke. The mask hid the movement.

"I'm here too," Howard mumbled.

The imposing figure continued, ignoring Howard. "You are no longer safe in the care of the one who lies like truth. I have come to take you to your father."

Randy took a few steps back. It was a little too much to handle at once. The Sorcerer with the power of demonization, who he had never heard of before this school year, now claimed him as son and wanted to meet him? The subject had been on his mind recently, but he hadn't expected _this._

"Do you suppose I could take a raincheck? I kinda have plans…" Randy did not trust the Sorcerer nor the ninja. He couldn't trust someone who wouldn't bother to show up in person and the ninja was basically a stalker.

"You are in mortal peril and there is more at stake than you could begin to fathom. The Infected have grown in number enough to challenge the Fist, but if they use you as leverage then years of work and sacrifice may come to nothing," the ninja said earnestly.

This guy was not going to take no for an answer and how can you argue with someone who has pointy weapons?

"Sounds like quite a problem…" Randy thought of an escape plan. The ninja was in front of them, so they'd have to turn their bikes around or go through him. Howard was already inching his bike past the ninja.

"If I cannot convince you to come, I am afraid I will have to use force."

Randy had to give him credit, the ninja did sound sorry. He was about to make a break for it when the ninja froze, eyes widening. More robots were pouring out of the side streets and towards them.

"Go! And take this with you." The ninja pulled off the mask, revealing the face of the thirty year old man. His brown hair was gathered in a high ponytail and his attire changed to black pants and a red tunic. "You're going to need it."

In the time it took Randy to look at the mask in his hands, the ninja was already back to fighting. There were four times as many opponents this time, but the swings of his swords were just as steady as before.

"First he wants you to come with him and now he wants you to leave? Rude." Howard scoffed. "I say we go."

"We should, but… what about him?" Randy couldn't shrug off the nagging feeling that there was much more going on than he realized. "Should you help him?"

The robots had gadgets on their arms, like saws and flamethrowers. The ninja dropped down to his knee, ducking a laser gun blast, and simultaneously cut the feet off four robots. The robots showed no fear, but mindlessly took the place of their fallen brethren.

"Not my fight. Can't use powers outside school anyway, I'd get expelled."

Even Howard was interested in the battle that was straight out of science fiction. Robots aren't something you see every day… Actually they did. McFist High had robotic apes as grunt workers.

By now, most pedestrians had retreated into the nearest buildings and the police were nowhere to be found. Randy and Howard were cheering, or booing, depending on the way the battle went. The ninja was doing remarkably well and almost seemed to have eyes in the back of his head when he skewered the robots sneaking up on him without turning around.

Then, appearing from thin air, was a cowboy.

"What the juice?" Howard said, blinking as if to check if the apparition was real.

The cowboy wore casual clothes, but the wide brimmed hat gave it away. He appeared behind the robot pack and they parted for him as he walked methodically towards the ninja. Shoulders stooping for just a moment, the ninja straightened and rushed the new opponent.

He was doomed from the start.

The cowboy teleported behind him and tripped him. Both swords skittered across the pavement, well out of reach. Being the taller of the two, the cowboy hefted the ninja to his feet and they were gone.

"What? How…?" Randy spluttered.

With their mission accomplished the robots marched off.

"Hey, Cunningham, come back!"

Randy dropped his bike and ran to the scene of the disappearance. Amid the disfigured metal parts were the two swords, all that was left of the mysterious ninja.

And the mask.

"What are you doing?" Howard was smarter and had ridden his bike there.

"I just don't believe it. That cowboy, do you think he's one of us?" Randy gathered the weapons. They flew from his hands as if magnetized and combined into one.

"Teleportation… It'd be in my quadrant." How took the sword and peered down its blade. "How much do you think this would sell for?"

"Gimme that! You'd probably get arrested trying to sell it."

"I have connections."

* * *

_a/n: There's a lot more to this chapter, but I wanted to prove I wasn't dead… Yay Finja! I was gone so long because I made a Ghost AU if you wanna check that out. If anyone wants to see the full chart with everyone's name and power, pm me and we'll figure it out_

_The Creep or 'messenger' works for McFist and helps find kids with powers. _


	9. Chapter 6 part 2

"So what do we do with them?"

The sword was lying on a circular wooden table in Randy's room, the mask on top of it. Randy's house offered more privacy than Howard's busy one and his mom was out getting groceries, meaning food was on its way.

"There's only one thing we can do," Randy responded gravely.

"Sell them on the internet?"

"Not that again! No, we have the responsibility of-"

Howard interrupted, "putting them in lost and found?" He sounded disappointed with the idea.

"Testing their abilities." Randy reached for the sword, but Howard was faster.

"I wonder if this can make an infinite amount of swords." He began to fruitlessly pull it apart.

Randy sighed and picked up the mask. It was light and very stretchy. The eye holes were outlined in red and red lines like scars slashed through the holes from the top to just below the eyes. Besides the full body transformation, Randy was unsure if it did anything else.

"You're not going to put that on are you? What if the guy had lice?" Howard questioned.

Ignoring his friend, Randy closed his eyes and pulled the cozy material over his head. Immediately, the thread began to replicate; black ribbons wrapped around his body until he looked like the Ninja himself (albeit a bit shorter).

"Fine, don't listen to me."

"Look, I'm sure he didn't have lice," Randy said. "Ugh, it bunches up in some _uncomfortable _places."

Randy wandered across the hall to strike some poses in the bathroom mirror. If he didn't know better he'd say the ninja suit was just a good quality Halloween costume.

Without asking, Randy took the sword from Howard. They were obviously a matching set; they both were black and red, and had a similar symbol on the hilt and breast. He tried sticking it in the sash around his waist, but it looked dumb. The Ninja had a proper sheath, but it was lost with him.

"Anything new?" Howard asked. "Do you feel like you suddenly know how to do Ninjutsu or backflips and stuff?"

Randy tried to imitate what he had seen on TV. Posing his hands at odd angles, throwing a kick in the air and all he managed to do was knock over a lamp. "Not really."

"Bummer." Howard bent over to pick up the lamp.

"Randy? I'm home!"

Randy froze. His mom was home already!

There came the telltale sound of the front door closing. "I saw Howard's bike; is he staying for dinner?"

"You bet I am, Ms. Cunningham!" Howard responded. "Hey, where'd you go Cunningham?" He looked about the room, his gaze passing right over his friend.

"I'm right here?" said Randy quizzically, waving a hand in front of his friend's face.

Howard started. "What the juice!? I could've sworn you weren't there a second ago."

"You don't think…?"

"Ninja stealth," Howard finished, nodding sagely. "We've gotta milk this for all it's worth."

"You mean like…?"

"Yup."

"And…?"

"Definitely."

"Whoa." Randy was starting to see the endless possibilities of invisibility. To anyone else, the exchange would be baffling, but the two had been friends so long that they often knew what the other was thinking. Also, teenage boys' trains of thought tend to lead in the same direction.

"Randy, are you going to say hello?" Paper bags rustled in the kitchen.

"Hey mom!" he called, then said more quietly, "After dinner?"

"Bet on it."

* * *

"Don't you guys see each other enough at school?" Heidi commented without looking up from her magazine. She was curled up in an armchair in the living room reading the latest celebrity gossip and scandal.

"Jealous?" Howard retorted. He often teased her for her lack of a social life.

"What? No! I have friends, I just don't bring them home."

Randy shuffled in the doorway awkwardly. "Uh, hey, Heidi." He would never tell Howard this, but he had always had a bit of a crush on Heidi. She was the hottest girl to ever talk to him, though she did get his name wrong regularly. He tried not to get too put out by this.

"Hello, Tandy."

"It's Randy. Still Randy."

Heidi turned a page, speaking no further.

The boys headed straight to Howard's room down in the basement. Its walls were covered in videogame memorabilia and despite the fact that it was only occupied two days of the week, it was extremely messy. As soon as Howard shut the door behind them, Randy launched into his scheme.

"We may be only be able to pull this off once, so we gotta make it count. I was thinking along the lines of an angry ghost… do you have an Ouija board?"

"Cunningham."

"Doesn't matter. What scary movies do you have? Then all we would have to do is knock over stuff."

"Cunningham, as much as I hate to say this, pranks will have to come later. There is a more serious matter at hand," Howard began. "The reason why we took your console to school is because one of my two controllers is missing."

"Did you check under your bed?" Randy questioned, slightly disappointed. Everyone dreams about what they would do if they became invisible and now he could do the best jokes ever.

"I've checked everywhere, except for one place: Heidi's room. It went missing around the last time you played Grave Puncher here. Since her room is above mine, she got a little mad when we kept her up with the volume on high. But she won't admit to taking it." Howard was pacing around the room, formulating a plan.

"Aha… wait, where are you going with this?"

"We need to search her room. The problem is, I am one hundred percent definitely not allowed in there, but we have the suit. So if you would just hand it over…" He began to reach into Randy's hoodie pocket.

Randy twisted away, reluctant to part with the mask for even a few minutes. The same went for the sword. Unfortunately, he had to leave the sword behind as it was a _little _conspicuous.

"I got this Howard, I know what a controller looks like. Besides, I already figured out how to use it." Randy pulled the mask on, walked up the stairs and twisted the knob. "You distract her so I don't run into her or something."

When they peeked into the living room, Heidi was talking on her pink smartphone. Randy reassured Howard he could handle it, and that he needed to keep Heidi from going to her room at all costs. It was like the suit could sense his intentions; before he could start to worry that it wasn't going to work, Howard waving an arm around trying to confirm his location.

"That is so the cheese." Howard smiled, and then went into the living room.

Randy encountered Mrs. Weinerman during his journey down the hallway. He stepped around her vacuum cleaner and she gave no indication that she saw him. Perfect. Randy opened the door to Heidi's room no farther than he needed to and snuck in. Her room was tidy, and had pale yellow walls and pink accents.

The first place he checked was under the bed. Immaculate. Not even a dirty sock. Then he moved on to a chest at the foot of her bed, behind books on a shelf, and then the dresser. All were negative, unless she buried it under her socks and underwear, which he would not feel right about going through. There was only one option left: the closet.

And there it was, neatly tucked away on the top shelf, too high for someone as short as Howard to reach. Randy smiled. How long would it take Heidi to notice its absence? Placing the controller in the suit to make sure it was invisible too, he was just closing the closet doors when he heard loud voices outside the door.

"Stop following me!" Heidi yelled, opening the door. "Sorry, my dork brother wouldn't leave me alone."

She closed the door, flopping on her bed and continuing the conversation.

"Things have just been so slow recently. I need something juicy for the Gossip Report on Monday and— no I already looked into that. No good."

Randy panicked; she didn't see him, but there was no way for him to leave undetected. He silently willed Howard to barge in, opening the door longer enough to get him out. What if the suit stopped working for some reason?

Heidi was quiet for a while, politely humming in agreement occasionally as the unknown girl (he assumed) rambled on.

"Mhm. Very nice, but can we get back to business? I am in a way serious position here and I can't be wrong about it. Have— let me finish. Do you know… dang it, you made me forget her name. It starts with a T, hold on." Heidi abruptly got up from her bed, grabbed a notebook from under the socks in a drawer, and flipped to a page. "Theresa Fowler! You've heard of her right?"

Randy inhaled sharply. Heidi looked up, but dismissed the noise.

"Well, she's a freshie, new to Norrisville this year. Friendly enough, but she doesn't have a steadfast group of friends." Sitting on the edge of her bed, Heidi read from the list of notes she kept. "She skips gym class, often misses school, and always wears long dresses. There has to be something weird going on with her, right?"

Theresa is a common name and he didn't know her last name. Heidi could be talking about anybody.

A long pause.

"I have a few theories written here, first—"

Howard arrived at the most inopportune moment, banging open the door dramatically. "Heidi! Mom wants you to take out the trash!"

Randy hated to leave in the middle of the conversation, but this may be his only chance so he ran for the door.

"How many times do I have to tell yoU'RE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE!?" Heidi yelled, throwing a pillow at him. Before Randy could slip out, the pillow hit his invisible body instead. "Anyways, it's your job to take out the trash." Her voice was much calmer as she looked around for what the pillow hit, diverting her attention from her brother.

"Ah, you're right. How could I forget?" Howard acted, slowly backing out of the room. Randy sneaked by Howard and pulled the mask off when he was out of sight.

The door clicked shut.

"Dude, did you get it?"

"You better believe it." Randy winked and whipped out the controller.

The boys patted each other on the back for a job well done and went back to Howard's room to put their efforts to good use. Videogame night was back on. Randy carefully avoided the topic of playing any pranks; he had one more mission he needed to do before his cover could be blown.

* * *

Randy stole down the dark hallway, the ninja suit granting him otherworldly stealth. Not a single board creaked nor did he stumble in the dark. This time he did not shut the door to Heidi's room in order to make less noise. She had replaced the journal under the socks and only then did he realize that he had no way of reading it. Yet again the suit aided him, Randy added night vision on top of invisibility.

None of the names were recognizable except for Theresa's. At the top of the page were characteristics, all of which matched the Theresa he knew. Next came the oddities she had read while on the phone, then her theories. Thankfully none of them mentioned her plant growing abilities, but the top one was 'leg deformity'. He chuckled at that, the idea just seemed absurd.

Happy that Heidi wasn't on to anything big, he was about to call it a night when he noticed at the beginning of something larger at the bottom of the page. The hastily scribbled entry carried on halfway to the next page and the date above it was from last Thursday- two days ago.

_Today, something _really _weird happened. I was just leaving the bathroom when I saw none other than TF gliding* down the hallway (I don't mean like a regal princess with good balance. I mean like she was wearing rocket powered roller blades or something bc she was not moving up and down like a normal running person would. That isn't even the weird part though). Naturally, I followed her. She went outside behind the school where… a cowboy and a ninja were fighting. It sounds crazy, but I swear that's what I saw. The ninja grabbed TF and they disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. The cowboy vanished too. Should I report a kidnapping? _

_Edit: TF was not back in school on Friday. _

Absorbed in reading, Randy did not hear Heidi wake up.

"Hello?"

Randy tensed, dropping the journal in surprise. The frightened girl flicked in the flashlight app on her phone, but saw nothing but her notebook on the floor, and the drawer and door open.

"That's not where I left you," she quavered, turning on a lamp.

Randy ran all the way back to Howard's room, got into the bed and pretended to be asleep.

How embarrassing.

* * *

_a/n In this fic the ninja suit will focus more on its supernatural powers (like air fist) and the 'arts of …' in Dawn of the Driscoll *wink wink* one of which was the art of invisibility. There may be one more update before I go back to school…. Thank you _judaiandjohan _for still helping me when I've been gone for like a month!_


	10. Summary of chaps 1 thru 6

Hey ya'll. I've been gone for awhile so I wrote a summary in case anyone couldn't remember what happened. As i reviewed the old chapters I noted some spelling and continuity errors so please just bear with me.

I have over 3k words done for chapter 7 and I hope to update sometime late tonight.

* * *

_Three weeks ago, Howard Weinerman and Randy Cunningham were admitted to McFist High School. On the first day, Coach Green assigned the nineteen new students their Level number, Level 12 being the lowest and 1, the highest. Howard was a Level 9 and since Randy didn't have powers, he was in Level 12. One of their roommates, Doug, can read minds. Looking into the mind of Coach Green, Doug hinted that there was something under the school._

_Over the next month, the students are to learn about the school, and then they are transferred into their Quadrant so those with similar powers can train together. It doesn't take long before they hear about the Sorcerer. On the Friday of the first week, Randy follows a ninja during a Code Green- the special alarm for when the Sorcerer's minions attack the school. He meets Viceroy, head of security, and the principal, McFist. They hint at an information leak._

_That Friday night, the boys were invited to a club party. Trying to avoid Bash, the two friends are separated. Two girls, Debbie and Theresa, confront Randy and ask if he's the Sorcerer's son. Back in school, he learns the Sorcerer can turn humans into mutants- the Infected. _

_Then, the students learn more about their Quadrants. Quadrant 4 had scary rooms that were specific to each person. The rooms' purpose was to encourage further power development. A strange boy named Julian used a glowing green ball to help him see in his dark room. Randy escaped to go find Howard, who was having a great time in Quadrant 3's virtual fighting simulator. However, Randy thought he was being mind-controlled. Bash tried to attack Randy and out of fear for his best friend, Randy fought back and somehow made Bash's powers go out of control. _

_Randy fails a challenge in Power Class, receiving the punishment of spending extra time with Mac Antfee. On his way to serve his time, Randy is once again attacked by Bash, this time for revenge. Howard tried to defend Randy, but the amulet that kept the Tengu demon in check got cracked. Debbie, the girl from the party, scares Bash off and grants the boys access to a Restricted floor where the amulet can be repaired. Too late, the Tengu took over and trashed S. Ward Smith's workshop and armory. Smith repairs artifacts and can control metal; his apprentice is a cyborg who can control the metal within himself. Smith warns that the Sorcerer takes prisoners from the school to add to his army. _

_Viceroy notices their presence on the Restricted floor, the floor where they conduct experiments… Experiments like the one that gave Bash his powers. Viceroy also notices Debbie and pieces together that she is part of the information leak issue. _

_In town for the weekend, Randy and Howard meet the Ninja. The ninja was fighting off robots made similarly to the ape robots at the school. The Ninja convinces Randy that the Sorcerer is indeed his father and gives Randy his magical ninja mask. A cowboy with the power of teleportation defeats the ninja._

_The boys naturally want to play with their new toy. While sneaking around Heidi's room invisibly, Randy finds her journal. It describes a scene from a few days earlier where a ninja and cowboy were fighting. The ninja and Theresa disappeared together, and Heidi is worried that the girl was kidnapped._


	11. Chapter 7

_-Monday-_

"Cunningham, just what in the juice are you doing?" Howard asked, slightly annoyed by his friends antics.

Randy was jumping at every noise, hiding when anyone walked past, and was generally a nervous wreck. Like that wasn't suspicious enough, he had his hood up.

"Don't you remember? I never went to Mac's lesson after school! He's gonna kill me," moaned Randy.

They finally made it to their dorm where Randy could relax. Neither of their other roommates had showed up yet.

"Why don't you skip class then?" Howard suggested. Skipping certain classes, or school, wasn't a big deal to him. His parents didn't care, so if there was a big test he didn't study for he just wouldn't go. Middle school was a simpler time…

"This school is messed up! Gym is a death trap and you didn't even see what happens to Quadrant 4 kids! Do you remember what used to happen when teachers caught you skipping class?" Randy was pacing the room, waving his arms around to emphasize his point.

"Eh, I got detention."

"That's right!" Randy grabbed Howard's shoulders. "Detention! Have you seen how the others react when someone says that word? There, they probably water board the kids!"

Howard disentangled himself. "You need to calm the juice down. Look, you can't avoid Mac forever; tell him what happened."

"I know what I'll do!" Randy continued as if he hadn't heard, "I'll wear this and he'll never see me." He stripped down to his underwear, and then pulled on the ninja mask.

"You brought that here? And what are you doing, have you lost your mind?" Howard was a little concerned about his friend wearing something that came from the Sorcerer in the school. If someone found out, he'd be in trouble for sure.

Randy replaced his clothing, including the hood; however, it was obvious that he was wearing the mask.

"See, now I can disappear if I see Mac between classes," Randy said, mentally congratulating himself on his brilliant idea.

"Buddy, I know you are not as well versed in the art of style as I am, but even a complete shoob could tell you this is a bad idea. If I met you in a dark alley, first I'd be scared, and then I'd laugh at how ridiculous you look."

Randy checked it himself. Using the camera on his phone, he confirmed that it was a bit much. He was the spitting image of a bank robber. Combined with the shadow from the hood, the dark mask made his blue eyes stand out startlingly so. Then the red lines made him look angry.

"You're right," Randy conceded, "but I'd rather look ridiculous than meet Mac an hour before I need to."

The plan worked well in the hallway, albeit a few students were confused why they ran into what appeared to be empty space. In class, Randy pulled the mask above his mouth and he kept his head down. Teachers were too busy trying to quell disruptive students who were using their budding powers to mess classmates to worry about a moody teen.

Miss Zingwald was the most preoccupied of the teachers. For English (or whatever language was native to the student) in Basic Studies, she took them for their first trip to the library. The librarian once again reminded Randy of a hippie. Despite his laid-back appearance, the librarian had the power of Contract Bestowal, meaning any deal with him was binding. His only rule was "be quiet" and if the rule was broken, he could basically own your soul. Libraries suddenly got a whole lot scarier.

They never encountered Mac though. Randy was feeling lucky by the time lunch rolled around, but not lucky enough to remain visible.

"How am I supposed to eat lunch alone? Everyone will think I'm a looser!" ranted Howard. "Great, now it looks like I'm talking to myself fantastic."

"You're not alone! I'm still here y'know." Randy would have been more annoyed if he wasn't so nervous. Teachers usually ate in the teachers' lounge, but someone had to keep an eye on the hormonal super-powered teens. This job fell on staff who were equipped to handle brawls, like Coach Green or Mac.

Howard rolled his eyes, letting his gaze wander across the room while he munched his hotdog. "Hey, there's that girl you like."

"Huh?"

Howard nodded towards Debbie. She was sitting at a table with other 2nd Quadrants, though she wasn't interacting with them.

"Her? No way! It's not my fault she keeps showing up."

"Mind if I ask her out then?" Howard asked with a wink. "It's not often I find a girl who's shorter than me."

"Whatever, bro." Randy turned back around in his seat… only to find himself a table's width away from Mac Antfee. Startled, he fell backward, bringing the chair down with him.

Mac's gaze did not waver from Howard.

"Tell your punk friend that he still owes me a one on one training session." Mac's voice was low, dangerous. Then he looked at the spot on the floor where Randy should be. "After class, not a minute later."

As he walked away, Randy up righted his chair. "Did you see that? I swear he looked right at me! I wasn't visible was I?"

"Nah. No way he could've seen you. Hey, are you going to eat those pickles?"

The rest of lunch went by far too quickly. Mac never looked their way again, but it did not stop Randy from being suspicious.

* * *

Randy did not wear the ninja suit with the gym uniform since he couldn't avoid Mac any longer, but he did hide the mask in his pocket.

It was the hour he had been dreading all day… and it got worse. Coach Green was waiting in the middle of the gym, suggesting that today he would be directing a signature deadly game. Instead of his usual white sports jacket, he wore a blue jersey.

"This is so bruce! Usually Mondays are something dumb, like no-power Frisbee or something," said Howard. He had been really getting into full-power games. Howard was the only one in the class who could fly and it often gave him an edge.

"Yes, wonderful," Randy replied dryly.

"Alright class, who here has played capture the flag before?" Coach Green asked. A few students raised their hands. "Well you're in for a treat today. Hit it Mac!"

Mac was as the gym controls; on either side of the gym, structures like castle battlements grew from the floor. They rose about two stories up and a small flag on a pedestal was barely visible at the top, red on one side, blue on the other.

"There is a slight twist to this game of capture the flag…"

"Go figure," Randy muttered.

"Normally this game is played outdoors and the flag is hidden, which we cannot do at the moment. Therefore, to make it more challenging, it will, of course, be full-power and…" he waited for the cheers to die down, "and we will be your defenders!"

Mac appeared on the furthest battlement with a red jersey on.

"Bash, you're a team captain and Morgan, you're a team captain."

Bash hooted and pumped his fists; Morgan said nothing but looked pleased.

Coach Green divided the teams, unlike last time, and it was much fairer. Bash had Rachel, Braedon, and Bucky, to name a few. Randy had pretty much given up on learning anyone else's name. Morgan had Doug, Reginald, and Howard.

Coach Green was preparing to call the next name. It was getting down to the last students and Randy crossed his fingers that he would be on Morgan's team.

"Abigail, with Morgan."

There were three left, including himself. He still had a chance…

"Randy, with Bash." Coach Green passed him a blue jersey.

Or not.

"Aw c'mon Coach! That Leftover can't do squat!" Bash complained.

Green was furious. "Bash, I don't care who your father is, so help me, I will not have you using that word to describe your classmates!"

Everyone except for 4th Quadrants and Howard snickered. Randy squared his shoulders, walking over to his team he stood as far away from Bash as possible. Howard gave his friend an apologetic glance.

"I'll defend for Bash, Coach Antfee is with Morgan," said Coach Green. "Get to your sides!"

The class quickly divided. The teams were almost the typical brains versus brawn. Bash, Braedon and Green had the advantage of size and/or strength. Morgan and Mac were physically weaker, but they were brilliant strategists.

Randy chuckled. Howard would belong more on his team with Bash.

"We're gonna hit them hard, bash their brains out, and win, got it?" Bash had called for a group huddle. Like Randy, Rachel was disinterested.

"You seem like a nice guy, you don't deserve what that bully called you," she said hesitantly.

"Me? What, um, really?" Besides his roommates, no one actually talked to Randy. It was a pleasant change.

"Really," she confirmed. "Everyone has special abilities, whether they are Super ones or not."

Randy noted that she was a very upbeat, positive girl. Her voice was a little high and squeaky, and her pastel colored clothes made her appear younger than what she probably was.

"I have powers," he sniffed. "They wouldn't let anyone into the school who didn't." It was a half-truth.

"That's not what you said on the first day."

"Ah, well— what are your powers again?"

"Zoolingualism, though I've only been able with talk to cats so far… Look what my Uncle got me!" Rachel pulled a small cat figurine out of her pocket. "It's Egyptian, symbolizing the feline goddess Bastet! Squee!"

A cheer rose from the red team. They broke their huddle, spreading out according to the plan they made. Randy wished he were on the same side as Howard.

"Hey look!" Bash exclaimed just loud enough for the team to hear. "The Leftover found a girl to protect him!"

Randy, Rachel and Bucky were the only 4th Quadrants on the team so the other seven found Bash's invective hilarious. Randy smoldered. He was already unpopular enough as it was!

"Ha! Funny, Bash, considering that the last time I saw you you turned trail and ran when the shortest girl in the school just looked at you!" It was the best Randy could come up with at the time. The lengthy sentence took Bash a few seconds to comprehend.

"Did not!"

Coach Green blew the whistle to begin the game, oblivious to the exchange.

"Just stay out of Bash's way!" Bash retorted, referring to himself in the third person as he often did when he was angry. "No one will be gettin' that flag except for me."

"Oh yeah? Well I accept that challenge!" Randy blurted. Rachel gasped, but the rest laughed.

The red team's offensive players were approaching, plus two suits of armor undoubtedly controlled by Morgan. The blue team activated their powers and rushed off haphazardly. Low-level kids remained behind, making a poor defense.

Rachel's cat statue grew into an extremely large, live cat that was tan with black spots. It attacked the armor, distracting it for a moment. One poor blue team kid was so nervous that he melted, literally becoming a pool of goo on the floor.

The teams clashed in the middle of the arena. The red team's focus was on Bash the hulk and Braedon the giant; Howard was in Tengu form, beating his wings in their faces. Bash and Braedon would have easily broken through the lines if not for two things: someone on the red team had created a force field, blocking the opposing team's entry, and then, metal pillars rose out of the floor. The chaos was more than enough to keep unwanted attention from Randy.

Randy hadn't challenged Bash out of mere bravado, he had a plan and that plan depended on stealth. Tugging the ninja mask on, Randy traversed the warzone invisibly. He ducked behind pillars to avoid being trampled or hit and he tripped anyone on the red team when they came within his reach.

Mac was looking rather bored on top of the fake battlement. No one had come close enough to fight him, or so he thought. Randy hadn't done so well on the climbing wall, but the suit made scaling the pseudo rock castle as easy as using an elevator—not that the castle had one of those.

It was all too simple; Mac was watching the fighting, so Randy could grab the flag, unmask, and pretend like he had been visible the whole time. His hand was almost to the flag when the defense instructor tensed. Mac did a 180, swinging his fist at the same height as Randy's face. Randy ducked and rolled just in time. What just happened?!

Mac was relentless; the apparent lack of an opponent did not seem to bother him. The unexperienced student was outmatched and eventually Mac's hearty kick to the gut knocked Randy to the ground.

He gasped for air, barely able to maintain enough concentration to remain invisible. Randy expected Mac to look triumphant, instead he looked almost… distressed.

The battlement shook as a giant body landed on top of it in one bound. Bash snatched the flag, unknowingly taking advantage of the defender's distraction. A buzzer rang and the columns and partial castle began to sink back into the floor.

The blue team cheered.

Randy stood up and punched the wall in frustration. He had been so close!

"Come out wherever you are Ran-turd!" Bash bellowed. The class looked around, unable to find the disgraced Level 12 anywhere.

Randy quickly transformed, noticed only by Mac who was unsurprised.

Not everyone had noticed that the game ended though, Howard and Braedon were still duking it out. Howard was on top, unrelentingly trying to peck at the giant's face. Braedon's hands were circled around the demon bird's neck, the only force keeping the pointy beak at bay.

Coach Green broke the fight up as effortlessly as a parent separates bickering children. It was almost comical to see an average sized man picking up a bird four times his size.

Figuring he could slip into the locker room while heads were turned, Randy tried to slip by Bash, but luck was not on his side.

"There he is!" Bash boomed, shrinking to his usual six foot self. He boxed Randy in against the wall, the red flag pointed at him menacingly. "Bash is gonna shove this flag right up your—"

Mac cleared his throat. "I'm going to have to stop you right there, because runt here owes me a chat in my office."

The class collectively 'ooed' in the annoying way groups tend to do when someone might be in trouble. Bash found this prospective punishment sufficient and hassled his victim no more.

Randy tentatively sat down in a plain wood chair facing Mac's desk. Sports memorabilia lined the walls; every available shelf had signed balls and trophies, and every empty patch of wall had a poster of a famous player.

Mac Antfee did not sit down. His back to the student, he picked up a small framed photo from a shelf. Only after a moment of silence did he return to his desk, with the picture, and sit down.

"That was a ballsy move you pulled."

Randy started, he hadn't expected Mac too be so civil. "What?"

Mac continued as if he hadn't heard. "I suppose you're starting to figure out, that being in Quadrant 4 sucks ass."

This was true, but Randy had a hard time following the conversation. "It does, but why do you care?"

"Cuz I was in the same boat you are: unloved, unhappy and unappreciated. You have to do whatever it takes to get ahead. I get that." Mac's voice was firm, angry. It ruined the illusion that this may be some sort of uplifting pep talk.

"But why-"

"Level 10! After all I did for this school I'll never be better than that!" Mac gritted his teeth. "You think you're so special, using the mask to switch Levels. Well, you know what? That mask took everything from me!"

Patting the pocket with the mask involuntarily, Randy realized that Mac could somehow see through the invisibility. Randy no longer had to say anything to keep Mac talking, the man was in the mood to rant.

"When I came here in the nineties, I had a best friend. His name was Finn Jacobs." Mac slid the picture across the desk. One of the young boys was unmistakably Mac, his orange hair was hard to ignore. The other was plain looking, but somehow familiar. They both wore wrestling uniforms. "We both started off in Level 12. We both were supernaturally good at hand-to-hand combat, with one difference- Finn used an artifact."

Randy took out the mask, rubbing the smooth material between his fingers. Mac eyed it hungrily, but did not reach for it.

"All was well. We were on the wrestling team together- back before it was banned because too many kids died- and we were equally matched. He had better skills, but I could see the future." He sighed. "Then the school found out what the suit could really do. He rose in Levels until we hardly saw each other anymore."

He almost seems like a normal, caring human being, Randy thought. He too worried that Howard would move on without him.

"Not like I care, the point is that the mask invites trouble. You must have heard the history about the Sorcerer. Back then, they all tried to excuse his actions," Mac adopted a high pitched, mocking tone, "'poor little Tim had powers greater than he could control, just went out of his mind he did. He's just confused'. Bull crap!"

Mac knew who the mysterious ninja was! And the Sorcerer! Finn Jacobs and Tim…

"McFist Senior though he did such a good job of paying off the upstart. He resurfaced when I came to the school as a student… The most normal looking of his bunch were recruiting under the guise of liberation. Principal McFist is doing his best, sure, there may be some rules but those are for the safety of the school. If Tim wanted to make his own school, then he should have done that instead of tearing ours apart," Mac said forcefully.

Why would the Sorcerer be so bent on destroying the school? Randy did some quick math. He'd been attacking the school for over 30 years. That's a little obsessive.

The defense trainer continued. "My best friend, Finn Jacobs, was swayed by their fancy talk- traitor. We met a week later on the battlefield. He tried to convince me to defect, but I refused. We fought, neither gaining the advantage over the other, until…" Mac looked off into the middle distance. "The Sorcerer had trained him in the dark arts. He tore apart my mind, leaving me unconscious for months. Thirty kids were taken that day."

The two sat in silence; Mac relived the betrayal and Randy contemplated the significance of Mac's story. None of the teachers ever said much about the Sorcerer except that he was evil. Randy hadn't wanted to accept it at first without proof- the only thing worse than not having a dad, was having one that turned people into literal monsters for his army.

But, it's true.

And the ninja, who works for the Sorcerer, has Theresa.

Mac broke his reverie. He stood up and led Randy to the door. "Choose your side wisely."

* * *

_a/n: I can't believe i finished this! 3 months is a long break... Thank you for all the wonderful reviews :) While you're waiting for the next update, I recommend not-a-cop's The Sentinel and The Ninja AU. It's p great and for the non heidiham shippers, give it a chance it is so much more than a shipfic. See ya next time!_


	12. Chapter 8

_-Last Saturday-_

Finn Jacobs took one last look behind him at the kid. The hapless boy didn't even realize the power he held, but it was the only way to keep it out of McFist's hands.

The Messenger teleported his prisoner directly into a waiting pair of metal cuffs attached to the wall by a short chain. The room was small and dimly lit. Finn knew that struggling would only give his former quadrant-mate satisfaction, so he did nothing. He grimly reflected that the man before him hadn't always been honored with the title of Messenger. In school, he had been called the Creep because he used his abilities to sneak into girls' rooms at night.

"We fiiiiiiinally got you," the cowboy drawled, trying to get a rise out of him. His cold, blue eyes blinked lazily. "For years, you scum have had the upper hand- always knowing when we were at our weakest. We finally caught on to your little tricks, though. How does failure feel?"

"Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up," the ninja replied. He wasn't about to fail the Sorcerer, not now not ever. The mission was too important to fail.

The Messenger scowled. "Let's just get this over with." He vanished.

Finn finally tested the metal's strength- solid. It would have been a tricky escape even if he had had his suit.

The Messenger reappeared. A few moments later, two figures walked through the door; however, it wasn't an average door. There was a click and a scraping of metal on concrete. Finn knew where he was: the holding cells.

"I love it when my hunches are correct!" The first figure exclaimed. The overly confident, booming voice obviously belonged to Hannibal McFist.

Accordingly, the slightly annoyed Viceroy followed his boss in. "Yes, sir. Good thing _you _recognized the student who was in contact with the Ninja."

"Indeed, Viceroy. Now maKE HIM TELL US WHERE THE SORCERER IS!" McFist's voice increased with every syllable. Finn cringed, unable to cover his ears.

"If you would be so kind, _Finn Jacobs, _please answer Mr. McFist." Viceroy lifted his visor that connected to all security cameras in the building so that he could look his prisoner in the eye.

"I'd rather die." All those kids… Finn told himself that he was willing to make that sacrifice to keep the information, and everyone else, safe.

"Funny," Viceroy did not sound amused, "since you're already supposed to be dead. I guess Assistant Coach Antfee isn't as trustworthy as I thought."

The Ninja strained against his bonds. Despite their many differences, he still had a soft spot for Mac. He thought that Mac had allowed hatred to fill his heart completely, but that rascal had covered for him… Why?

"This is taking too long! Do something!" McFist threw his hands in the air, frustrated due to his short attention span.

The Head of Security coolly continued. "One last chance, Ninja. Tell us where the Sorcerer is hiding."

Finn was defiantly quiet.

"Fine. Messenger, give me his suit." Viceroy turned to the cowboy who had been enjoying the spectacle.

"His…um, suit?" He stuttered, nervous with the sudden shift of focus.

"Yes, his suit- the mask. Surely you took it away from him once you defeated him?" Viceroy's eyes narrowed.

"Well, he," the Messenger hoped Viceroy wouldn't shoot the messenger, "was not wearing a suit."

McFist was much more upset at the news. He yelled and lashed out at anything near him, causing the Messenger to disappear until his fit was over. The next best recipient for his anger was then Finn. Finn accepted the blows with stoicism.

Eventually, McFist ran out of steam and calmed down enough to form comprehensive sentences. "VICEROY I WANT THAT MASK!"

"I know, sir." Viceroy put the visor back in front his eyes and typed at a virtual keyboard on his wrist. "The video recording from the robots agrees with the Messenger. No mask. But, if I go further back to the first wave of robots, he _is _wearing it."

Viceroy considered the new information carefully.

"He must have ditched it after destroying the first robots and before the backup arrived. Unfortunately, there were no robots to record that moment," he concluded.

"So, your point is…?" McFist's face was beet red from anger and exertion. Nothing had been going his way from the very beginning of the school year. He needed the mask to give him an edge against his enemy, and he needed to know where is enemy was. Plain and simple. These morons kept messing everything up.

"We still have nothing." Viceroy didn't fear his boss. McFist would have nothing without him; he knew that and if he forgot, he'd have hell to pay.

Finn tried to use their bickering to his advantage- he didn't have much time left. He doubted they would kill him, but they would get the information. He was a normal human; all they needed was a mind reader and Randy and the rest of the kids would be done for.

"I have a suggestion, Principal McFist." All eyes turned to the cowboy. "There are ways to get what you want without asking politely."

"Eh?" McFist's usual robo-apes never talked back or made suggestions. Someone coming up with ideas, besides himself, was a novel thought.

"If you would allow me?" The Messenger directed the unfinished question to Viceroy, who nodded.

The Messenger transported all four of them to a room above them in the School. He did not have to touch people or objects to teleport them if it was only for a short distance. Their sudden presence startled the sole occupant of the area.

"Jackanapes! You scared me half to death Cowboy! How many times do I have to tell you… oh." S. Ward Smith paused his work. "Hello McFist, Viceroy and… one other." The other was familiar. Could it be? No, that didn't make any sense…

It took a few moments for the Ninja to realize that he had been freed. Though he had a broken nose and bruised ribs, his training kicked in. He seized one of the daggers conveniently displayed on the wall and threw it at the Messenger. The Messenger sensed the danger and promptly teleported on the opposite side of the room. Without missing a beat, the ninja then grabbed a sword and charged McFist. In the seconds it took to cross the distance, Finn noted that the sword was made with the same quality as his own.

Finn brought the sword down. He hated taking lives, but he saw no other way to end McFist's machinations.

The middle aged man was taken by surprise. Who would _dare _to oppose McFist?

Steel met steel.

The blind man had moved with startling speed and accuracy. The sword he had been repairing crossed with Finn's sword, right in front of McFist's nose.

"I know you Jacobs! Don't do this!" pleaded Smith, his blade sinking under the younger man's strength.

McFist had enough sense to move away from the skirmish and closer to Viceroy.

"How can you defend him?! I won't let him ruin the lives of children anymore!" Finn was stunned. Smith had been his mentor while he was at MHS; he had personally made his splitting Ninjatō. Why would he help such an evil man?

The struggle didn't last much longer. The ninja sank to the floor in defeat.

The Messenger quickly teleported behind him and tied the ninja's wrists together with rope he found.

McFist was very offended by the whole ordeal. "Ruining their lives? Please, these children have been rejected by their society, their parents, and their friends for being different. I have given them a home here! Isn't that right Viceroy?"

"Yes sir."

"See? What do you say to that?" McFist crossed his arms.

"Go to Hell."

Before McFist could give him another pounding, Brent opened the door.

"Mr. Smith, I heard some noises. Is everything okay?" Brent eyed the four others in the room wearily. Last time people showed up unexpectedly, the whole place got trashed.

"Go check on the forge, Brent," said S. Ward Smith coldly.

"But I just-"

"Go."

Brent slammed the door and the room was silent.

"As I was saying," the Messenger huffed, annoyed that his moment of genius was delayed, "I remember seeing a neat little book in the artifact collection here. Ah, here it is, the Nomicon." He located the thick, black volume on a shelf with little difficulty as he had looked for it earlier.

Viceroy perked up at its mention. "I remember that; Joe the librarian brought it back from a trip to Europe. Its name is derived from the word 'lexicon', except instead of words, it lists names. 'Nom' is the Latin root word for 'name'. It's quite fascinating."

Finn studied the cover; it was plain. There was no decoration on the cover, but anyone could tell it was old. Many hands had worn the binding and time had yellowed the pages that were not stacked seamlessly like with modern printing.

"Of course! The Nomicon! That'll show him!" McFist then whispered to Viceroy, "What does it do again?"

"The Nomicon," Smith spoke, "absorbs the conciseness of its victim and converts it into written form. Principal McFist, sir, you aren't planning to use this are you? We've never been able to get anyone out of it!"

"It's perfect!" McFist rubbed his large hands with glee.

The Messenger was pleased. After his recent failures of losing the girl and the suit, his boss was livid. This way, they would get all the answers they needed.

"Well Mr. Smith, it all depends on this so-called 'Protector of Norrisville' here," Viceroy began. "He will be spared if he tells us where the Sorcerer and his mask are." He looked at the kneeling figure pointedly.

The ninja glanced at his old mentor. Smith, obviously, could not see what was happening, but he turned his back to them.

Finn was resolute; the decision was an easy one.

"Neither in life nor in this living death will I relinquish my secrets; I swear it on the honor of my ancestors!"

Viceroy nodded slowly. He respected a man who could stand tall in the face of danger and the unknown. However, he was on the wrong side of this battle and his life an unfortunate casualty. It was true that they had never been successful in returning the mind back to its body. Without life support and constant care, the body would waste away. Finn Jacobs would live, perhaps until the book is destroyed, but Viceroy had no way of knowing for sure. The oldest minds in the book didn't have much on their pages, just a word or two on occasion.

Viceroy suspected that they slowly went insane, unable to feel or see. They could respond to outside voices with their thoughts, though; but who wants to keep a book company all day?

The Sorcerer had become even more dangerous in his banishment. If this was the only way McFist and himself could stop him, so be it.

McFist could already taste victory and so he decided to gloat about it. "We're going to read you like a book!"

No one else was excited about his genius pun, but that fact did not damper his high spirits.

Viceroy brought the Nomicon level with the prisoner's face. The Messenger forced his splayed hand onto a blank page and Finn's world went black.

XX

McFist made a disgusted face at the limp body. "Ick. Viceroy, call the robots to clean it up."

"One moment, sir. I want to- ouch!" Viceroy dropped the book, clutching his hand. "It's hot!"

The unremarkable-looking book began to glow red. It was as if a fire burned on the cover, leaving red hot, intricate designs. Then it was over, but the markings remained.

The Messenger looked on, wide-eyed. "What the…?"

Viceroy picked it back up tentatively. This aftereffect had never happened before. Concerned, he tried to open the Nomicon, hoping that the mind they needed to read hadn't burned up as well.

But it would not open.

XX

_a/n Guess who's a high school graduate? Me! I can finally work on this thing… I want to finish it before college, but it's only half done so it'd be a miracle. Big thanks to __**judaiandjohan **__for sticking with me!_


	13. Chapter 9

_-Wednesday-_

"Do you want your cheese wonked? Were you even listening to Mr. Sword Smith?" Howard exclaimed, his voice deeper and harsher in Tengu form.

"First off, his name is _S. Ward _Smith. Second, I won't be going as Randy Cunningham, I'll be _masq_uerading as the ninja," Randy jumped above Howard's large, hand-like wing that had intended to backhand him across the roof. "Hehe, get it?"

Randy, clothed in the ninja suit, landed on his opponent's wing and ran up the length of it. Tengu Howard had no time to respond before Randy formed a fist with both hands and brought it down on his bird skull. The blow didn't cause injury, but it was enough to break his concentration and he returned to human form.

"Ow! This is so not fair, I would have beaten you in two seconds flat without that mask!" Howard complained, rubbing the top of his head.

Randy did a victory dance around his friend, reveling in his new abilities. Mac's lessons had never clicked before; he had known what he was supposed to do but he could never pull it off. With the mask, it was easy to anticipate his opponent's next move and decide on the perfect counterattack. He and Howard had been sparring on the roof after classes since Monday when no one else was around.

"It totally is fair though, I've been out of my depth since day one!" Randy indignantly pulled off the relic in question. "I may not be able to use it in the classroom, but in a fight against the Sorcerer I might have a chance!"

"You can't just go and fight the Sorcerer! They've been doing that for who knows how many years and he's still a threat; what chance do you have? Anyways, what makes this 'Theresa' so special?" Howard had been up in arms over the issue all afternoon, making their little match more aggressive than usual.

"I… I don't know. What I do know is that the Sorcerer will hurt her and if I can do anything about it, I sure as juice will!"

Randy's plan went like this: During the next Code Green, he would pretend to be the Ninja and return with the Infected to the Sorcerer's hideout and rescue Theresa and anyone else he may find.

Howard turned to the door that led down to the top floor with the elevator. "It's a stupid plan. What if the next Code Green happens a month from now? She'll be turned by then for sure… If she isn't already," he muttered that last part to himself.

Randy followed his friend into the elevator, pressing the 2 button for their dorm. "Do you have any better ideas? Perhaps I could look up the Sorcerer's address in a phonebook!"

"Hilarious, Cunningham. Do you even know how to use a phonebook?" replied Howard dryly.

The bickering continued the entire elevator ride until the agreed to disagree. The silence gave Howard time to think. Randy was in the process of opening the door to their room when Howard came to a realization.

"How the cheese do you even know she was kidnapped? You talked to her like, once," Howard pointed out.

Randy quickly shuffled into the room, responding, "That's not important right now!"

Howard was about to press further when the previously sole occupant of the room answered his question.

"He read it in your sister's diary," Doug stated, his tone peeved like he had just said the obvious. He was reclining on his bed reading a comic book.

"You WHAT?!" Howard yelled, fired up again.

Randy cringed and wished he had followed Bucky's lead by wearing a tin foil hat. It looked dumb, and it probably didn't work, but at least Doug left him alone.

"O.M.G," Doug continued after discovering the whole story, "I get a migraine for two days, and all _this_ happens? Migraines really are terrible; I can barely think, let alone listen to others thinking. My mother said I got them from her side of-"

"Shut it, Doug. Bro, you found my sister's diary and didn't tell me?"

"It was more of a gossip journal, and I didn't want to say that I looked through her underwear drawer!" Randy turned and methodically banged his head against the wall. Doug usually kept what he learned to himself. It made him feel superior to others and his favorite pastime was blackmail. However, it was times like these when he wanted a new roommate.

"You have problems Cunningham," Howard said, shaking his head.

"I know- you've been throwing them in my face all afternoon! There may be a few flaws in my otherwise perfect plan, but if all else fails I'll make us invisible and hide out 'til the coast is clear." Randy didn't bother hiding his intentions from Doug, it was far too late for that.

Howard sighed. "I didn't mean the problems with your plan- there are more than a few- I meant your personal problems."

"Yeah," Doug chimed in, "like your tendency to—"

"I don't know where you're going with that, but I'm gonna stop you right there." The exasperated boy held up a hand at 'stop'. "Who decided that today's 'Gang up on Randy Day'?"

"I don't know, the Queen of England?!" Howard replied sarcastically. "I'm getting snacks from the caf, see ya."

And he left.

With nothing else to do, Randy crawled up the ladder to his bunk and flopped onto the mattress.

"My plan can't be all that bad, can it?" Randy pretended like he was just talking to himself, but he secretly wanted Doug reassure him. He couldn't ask Doug straight out because they were _not_ friends and because he was an insufferable, whiney little dick.

"Oh yeah? Well, you're a powerless, fatherless complaining _baby, _so there," Doug huffed. "FYI, your plan sucks."

First, Randy was slightly offended. Then he was confused. _I guess Doug doesn't know _everything_. _

"What else could I do then!? I don't know where the Sorcerer is!"

"I might," Doug said slyly, feigning interest in his reading.

Randy was stupefied. Was Doug actually… offering help?

"Really? Tell me!"

"Ha! Even if I do know, I certainly wouldn't tell you." Doug stuck his nose in the air and then continued with his comic book.

"Pleeeease?" Randy whined. "It's important! Someone needs to stand up to the Sorcerer instead of waiting around for him to attack again!"

Doug ignored him.

"I'd do anything!" Randy blurted it out, a last desperate attempt. The grin on Doug's face made him consider for the first time just how far he was willing to go for a girl he met only once. But it was more than that. If he could sneak in once, he could do it again. Maybe he could finish what nobody could for decades. Maybe he could get some answers.

"In that case…. I don't know where the Sorcerer is."

"Are you kidding me?" Randy said, bewildered. He'd gone through all that, for nothing?

"I can find out though, give me a couple of days." This time Doug actually did ignore him and didn't say anything for the rest of the night.

_-Thursday-_

Doug was always the first one up in the morning. Everyone had to wake up at the same time- P Slimz was their personal alarm clock who started their morning off with an 'inspiring' quote of the day- but Doug was the first one _up. _He wanted dibs on the shower and then he annoyed his three roommates while they finally starting getting ready. That morning, however, he was already gone before P Slimz came on the loudspeaker.

"Good morning McFist High! Today's motivational Quote of the Day is: 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery and today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.' "

"Ooo, that's a good one!" Bucky was always the second one up and he was the only one who actually liked the Vice Principal's nuggets of wisdom.

Then Randy would reluctantly get out of bed. Despite McFist High's technological achievements, 200 plus people eventually wear out the hot water supply. Howard had to be woken up by Randy because he slept with a pillow over his head in order to never hear P Slimz's voice in the morning. More often than not, he skipped the cold shower.

Howard was much happier after food and a good night's rest. With Doug as a backup plan, Randy decided not to push the issue any further. He knew Howard was worried. Besides, this was something he had to do alone. When it comes down to it, Howard would want to stick with Randy to protect him and a large orange bird is the opposite of stealthy.

"Yo, what's up in Driscoll's today?" A sleepy Howard asked to no one in particular.

"I think we're still working on power classifications, why?" Randy replied. He was almost ready; he just had to tie his McKicks.

"Just wondering if it's worth waking up for… Nope."

"Aw, c'mon. I can't sit through her class and basic studies alone," Randy prodded.

"Fiiiine."

Bucky left to go down for breakfast. Randy finished tying his laces and politely waited for his biffer. The two boys minded their own business for some time before Howard broke the silence.

"Aaaay, Cunningham, my man," he sauntered out from the bathroom, "what would you say if I said that we were invited to another party?"

"No."

"Fine, have it your way. I was the only one invited anyway."

Randy could tell his friend was miffed. "Okay, Howard, what gives?"

Howard's mood did a 180 and he launched into his story excitedly. "It's going down this afternoon after lunch on the Quad 2 floor. They're the coolest ones in the school and there's only, like, twenty of them- including Morgan and Doug! This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity! Nobody really knows what their floor looks like. When else are we going to see that?"

Randy thought to himself that he already had seen it. Using the Ninja invisibility, he had explored all over the school minus the restricted areas. He had to travel with others in the elevators to make it less suspicious and no one had the clearance for it. He had to admit, the floor for the 2nd Quadrants was pretty plush. It was like a castle to the hamster cage of Quadrant 4.

"When did this happen? Was one of them getting snacks the same time as you last night or…?"

"_No, _it was a few days ago when you kept disappearing and snooping around and stuff. You're not going to like this but, Bash invited me. He said it was pretty bruce when I beat up Braedon on Monday and that I should start hanging out with cool people. He also said I could bring a friend. Will you be my plus one?" He winked.

"Hoooward, you know how much he hates my guts!" This is the exact reason why Randy didn't want to go in the first place. Of course Bash is going to all the parties! He's the principal's step-son!

The portly boy placed his hands on his hips. "I'm going with or without you. Without you, I'm inviting Bucky."

"Alright, alright, I'll go! And the only interesting things I saw around the school were the janitor turning trash into bubbles and P Slimz walking around wearing nothing but his underwear and a hat, so don't be too salty."

"That's just messed up."

They both paused, Randy relived the scarring experience and Howard's vivid imagination conjured up an equally disturbing mental picture.

Howard shook his head as if to disperse the thought. "I will never look at him the same way again."

"I know what you mean, buddy." Randy nodded sagely.

The loudspeaker crackled and Vice Principal Slimovitz's voice echoed around the dorm. "To whoever took my car tires… return them immediately! It's not funny!" He cleared his throat. "This has been a PSA." _Click._

Howard sighed. "Never again."

XX

Shortly after Randy and Howard returned to their room after lunch, there was a knock on the door. Bucky opened it only to be frightened off by the sight of Bash's gang.

"Heeey," Howard welcomed them with open arms, "Bash, what's up?"

Bash took a step forward, towering over the unfortunate red head. "ME." Mick, Ethan, and Doug 8 snickered.

"Good one, Bash," said Howard while backing up. "You guys here to take us to the party?"

"Yeah," Doug said. "If you went alone, they might think you're uninvited and mess you up."

Needless to say, the atmosphere in the elevator was very icy. Randy and Bash stood in opposite corners and the only sound was of Mick chewing. At first, Randy thought he was gnawing on beef jerky. A few surreptitious glances revealed that he was actually eating strips of rubber. Since his power was Matter Ingestion, Randy shrugged and figured Mick could do whatever floated his boat.

The 2nd quadrants had a whole two floors to themselves. The elevator arrived on the top of the two; a small waterfall fell from the ceiling in the middle of the room into a hole in the floor. Randy knew from previous snooping that the waterfall emptied into a pool of water on the floor below. However, the indoor waterfall wasn't the most impressive part of the large room. Occupying a fourth of the area was a home theater. The screen was even bigger than the ones at the movies and the chairs surrounding it were plush recliners. Scattered around the rest of the room were various types of seating and the latest electronic gadgets, which were otherwise discouraged. In the far corner, there was a counter where they could order food from their personal chef.

It was almost as if Principal McFist was biased towards the kids with stronger powers…

Randy's bitterness did not seem to extend to Howard; he was in heaven.

"This is so the cheese!" Howard stumbled out of the elevator, too in awe to notice that he was blocking everyone else's exit.

"Move it." Mick knocked him out of the way. The gang wandered off, doing their own thing and indifferent to their guests. The two boys followed behind them hesitantly, observing their surroundings.

Randy looked for familiar faces. He spotted Morgan first, she was talking with two other girls. One had dark skin with pale blue hair and the other was rather tomboyish with a bandana tied around her forehead and had red streaks in her hair.

Doug was still missing. Randy thought for sure he'd be there since it was his Quadrant. Debbie was also gone he noted with some disappointment. She was friends with Theresa, right? She might know something he didn't.

Howard nudged Randy and not so subtly nodded in the direction of a group lounging on one of the couches. A nerdy, whimpy looking kid was surrounded by four girls, each fawning over him. He didn't even say anything. He just sat there and grinned like it was cool to wear sunglasses indoors. Obviously, it was some form of control, but powers were supposed to be limited outside the gym. Where was the adult around here?

Bash had crossed the room to bump fists with an equally built guy. He had long, blond hair and he showed off his form by wearing nothing but a blue, varsity athlete jacket and a speedo.

"S'up, dude?" The blond was very laidback; he wasn't uneasy around the bully like most others.

"We're all here, can we get on with it, Buttermaker?" Bash said.

"Step off and take a chill pill- we got all afternoon," Buttermaker replied calmly. "Who are the noobs?"

"This is Howard, Bird Shapeshifting." Howard rolled his eyes, but didn't correct him. Close enough.

When it became obvious that Bash wasn't going to introduce him, Randy spoke up, "Randy, Level 12."

"Buttermaker, Hydrokenisis- Water Mover. Sit tight and enjoy yourselves." He gave them a thumbs up and walked away.

Bash almost immediately wrapped an arm around Howard's shoulders and dragged him off in a different direction. "Bash is gonna introduce you to some friends of mine, Bird Boy…"

Randy was left feeling exposed and slightly anxious. What was he doing here? He was tempted to leave when a voice called, "Randall! So good to see you here!"

Julian was tolerable.

"Hey, Jules." Randy turned and stepped closer in order to bump fists. Within inches of touching each other, Randy quickly pulled his hand back. The air around Julian felt staticky, like the screen of an old television.

Julian gasped. "Tyler doesn't like you!"

"Tyler?" He looked around, trying to see who Julian was referring to. Failing, he diverted his gaze back to the goth and blanched at the sight of a skull in his palm. Julian had removed it from a hidden pocket inside his overcoat. It wasn't human, though it looked like it. It couldn't be, it had two, short horns growing out of it. "The juice?!

"Tyler protects me," Julian stated seriously, tracing one of its sockets with a finger. Randy noticed a faint, green light coming from inside. The weirdo had put his glowing ball in it. How wonked up is that?

"Protects you from what?" Randy played along while looking for an escape route.

"The Stanked." Julian returned the morbid display back to its pocket.

"Come again?"

"I suppose the adults told you they are the 'Infected'," he rolled his eyes, "but that makes it sound like they can be cured. They can't. They've been stanked by the Sorcerer's powers and only he can undo it."

Randy nodded slowly. He still didn't understand what the ball did besides acting as a nightlight, where Julian got the skull, and why it was named Tyler. It hardly mattered, it was clear Julian was nuts and he had to get away from him.

He hastily excused himself and joined a small crowd surrounding Buttermaker who was showing off his water powers. He had taken some of the liquid from the waterfall and was using it to create shapes. The most elaborate were a life sized horse and a sea serpent that weaved through the impressed onlookers. However, it was hard to take him seriously. As he demonstrated his powers, Buttermaker was telling stories about when he lived in California and he seemed to be stuck in the 80's. Randy hoped he'd never have to hear another 'gnarly,' 'tubular,' 'radical,' or 'righteous' used ironically again in his life.

After Buttermaker proved he could walk on water, the show was over.

"So R-dude, you never told me- what is your power?" Buttermaker asked, sending the water back to the fall with a wave of his hand.

"I don't really have one yet." Randy patted the pocket with the mask in it. If only they knew… enhanced strength, speed, _and_ invisibility.

"That's bogus. You could totally, like, get killed or something." The older teen expressed mild concern.

"Thanks," Randy said sarcastically.

"You're not alone though," Buttermaker continued, "Principal McFist can't do diddly squat either and he's still alive despite losing an arm. I wouldn't worry your noggin about it too much."

"How'd that happen?" Movement by the food counter drew his eye and in his agitation, he completely missed Buttermaker's response. "Holy crap, it's that guy!"

It was that guy, the one from the club a couple of weeks ago with the pink hair and electrical powers. It made sense that this would be his Quadrant, but his presence still made Randy nervous.

Buttermaker followed Randy's gaze. "It's alright, Levander is a pretty rad dude as long as he keeps the gloves on and doesn't touch anybody."

Randy actually started enjoying the get together. He and Buttermaker were getting along well and when others joined the conversation, Randy never felt left out. It was exciting to hear about other student's powers, where they came from and epic battles against the Stanked. Occasionally, he would look across the room where Howard was hanging out with Bash's gang and two others. Everyone was laughing. The unknown two were also big, muscular guys. Howard could look like that one day, Randy thought- if he grew a foot and swore off pizza, that is.

The longer they talked, the more listless Buttermaker became. His brow was creased and Randy caught him frequently looking over at Bash as well. When the girl Buttermaker was debating the superiority of water or fire manipulation with left, he and Randy were alone once again.

"I like you R-dude, so you gotta understand me and book, like, right now." Randy started to question him, but Buttermaker shushed him and nudged him closer to the elevator. "It's Bash and his posse, they're trying to take you out! And Quadrant Master Wickwhaker isn't here to stop them!"

"What about Howard?"

"He'll be fine, just go!"

It probably would have been less conspicuous if Randy had walked across the room, but he sprinted, spurred on by the urgency in Buttermaker's tone. He pressed the down button for the elevator, waited and pressed it again and again and again. What was taking it so long?

By the time it dinged, a firm hand closed around one of his arms. It was Doug 8 with the others not far behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bash sneered. Then in a loud voice, "It's time for the entertainment!"

The Second Quadrants cheered.

Randy was forced into the elevator and was kept under close supervision by Mick. Howard trailed in last and the doors closed.

"Bash, what's going on?" Howard's voice was neutral, but the soda can he was crushing in his hand gave away his true feelings.

"This is how it is, Bird Boy, next week you'll be movin' in with us and leaving this Leftover behind." Bash gave Randy a shove that caused him to fall on his butt. "You have a valuable set of powers and we're offering you a chance to join us- all you have to do is pass a little test."

The doors opened and Randy was pushed out.

The other floor belonging to Quadrant 2 was elemental themed. The floor was made of clay and lit braziers lined the walls. The water fall ended in a murky pool of water, colored brown by the dirt it was mixed with. The only hiding places were behind the few boulders scattered on the floor, otherwise it was utterly barren.

It took just a few minutes for the thirty or so students to file down to the 13th floor. They were waiting for something; everyone watched the elevator expectantly. Meanwhile, Randy, Julian, and another unfamiliar kid were herded together. They had no idea what was happening either, except that it was bad. Julian was almost in tears and the other's shirt was soaked with nervous sweat. Randy was apprehensive, but he knew he could escape at any time.

A hush fell over the crowd. The elevator dinged and revealed two people: one of the girls who had been talking with Morgan and Levander. The girl led him out and removed his gloves, holding them in the air triumphantly. The spectators cheered.

"That's Alisha," Julian whispered, "she can absorb and ground electricity."

The two big guys who were friends with Bash made bleachers out of the clay floor. Randy growled in frustration. They were going to let Levander loose just like they did at the club!

"-and all you have to do is watch these losers get trashed without lifting a wing to help them. You in?" Bash told Howard smugly. The deal sounded like a no-brainer to him.

Howard's reply was not immediate; Randy agonized over those few silent seconds. His worst fear was about to become true- Howard was going to replace him with cooler, richer 'friends'.

"Go wonk yourself with a leaf blower, Bash."

Bash glared at Howard. "No one rejects Bash! Hold him!" Two mounds of dirt rose from the ground, enveloped Howard's arms, and solidified. He couldn't move.

"For that, you're going to watch them anyway. Then Lev is going to drain you too and there's nuthin you can do about it. Let the entertainment begin!" Bash and his gang left Howard glued to the floor and joined the crowd on the bleachers.

Alisha released the energy hungry Levander.

Julian and the kid scattered. Randy cast one last, pleading look at Buttermaker. He avoided eye contact.

Randy took off running himself. He knew Julian's parlor tricks and echolocation wouldn't be of much help, so he followed the kid behind one of the boulders.

"We need a plan, whud'ya got?"

The kid shook his head and held up his hands- they glowed like a flashlight. Randy would have screamed if they weren't trying to hide; they had made sure everyone would be useless! He took the mask out of his pocket. Its powers were the ace up his sleeve, but using it would mean revealing its existence. Logically, the risk wasn't worth it. But Bash was trying to make an example of him. Randy wasn't about to sit by and let it happen when he could defend himself.

The kid never had a chance. His glowing hands had led Levander right to their spot. Levander pounced on the kid, his own hands glowing purple when they made contact. The kid went cross-eyed and slumped to the ground. Randy cursed. At least he had a plan now.

He raced across the distance to the nearest tall rock. Randy figured he could turn invisible there without everyone seeing him only to discover that Julian was hiding there too. Julian threw himself at Randy's feet.

"Save me!" he cried, latching on to Randy's ankle.

"Let go!"

The crowd booed. They couldn't see what was going on. The Earth Movers obliged and the boulders sank into the ground until there was nothing left to hide behind.

Julian reacted immediately. He rolled over and splayed himself in a dramatic impression of roadkill.

"Really? You're playing dead?!"

Levander rose from the inert body of his first victim, electricity sparking at his fingertips. He and Randy stared each other down. Randy could practically hear the old western music in his head. Time for plan B.

Run like hell.

Actually, it was more like 'run like hell towards Howard and free him,' but he hadn't quite figured out that last bit yet.

Levander screeched. A ball of pure electricity formed in his hands and lobbed it at Randy. He saw it coming and slid under it like a baseball player reaching home plate. As he scrambled to is feet, he noticed a problem. In order to reach his friend, he'd have to go between Levander and the pond. Not only would he be really close to the psycho, but he'd have no room to maneuver. Randy hesitated.

The spectators cheered on their Quadmate. Levander felt confident and began to close the distance. Randy's likelihood of making it through the gap went from improbable to imminent demise. He didn't think Levander would actually drain _all _the life out of someone, though the kid looked pretty bad.

Bash rubbed his hands with glee. His revenge couldn't have been more perfect.

Then Randy did the unthinkable- he charged his attacker. The crowd was on the edge of their seats- this was almost as good as Spirit Week! Levander didn't back down, he prepared another energy ball. Randy never slowed his pace.

Howard tried to free his arms again. It was like they had dried in concrete. There was nothing he could do… "Look out!"

Levander threw the electricity. Randy tried to doge, but it glanced off his shoulder. The forced knocked him off his feet and right into the heaving, cloudy water. Levander searched the water while carefully maintaining distance. The seconds dragged on. The hit wasn't that bad, he should have surfaced already… Most of the 2nd Quadrant had enough morals to know letting someone kill a classmate is wrong and they became understandably antsy.

That's why they screamed when Levander dropped his third electrical ball into the water.

Randy Cunningham, Level 12, was toast.

* * *

_a/n: sorry for the two month lull, I got a job on top of all my other responsibilities. I know this is basically just a filler chapter (trust me there is a point and it won't take up all of the next chapter) but tons more action planned ahead. Actually, I've been planning part of the next chapter for forever, major turning point in the story. I did update Ghost Story at the beginning of July tho, check it out. Also, note I uped the rating on this story for some scenes I have planned. _

_PS Stevens has Pheromone Control since he was such a 'ladies man' in the show_


	14. Chapter 9 part 2

Randy winced; he had missed being electrocuted _by that much. _Otherwise,part 1 of Plan B worked perfectly. As soon as he was underwater he had donned the ninja mask and turned invisible. Exiting on the opposite side of the pool, he tried to shake as much water off as possible so he would not leave a trail.

He mentally patted himself on the back for his quick thinking. Randy would kill for a weapon right about now, like the schweet sword at home, but he just needed something to bust Howard out. As much as he would love to beat the shit out of Bash himself, (it's not really Levander's fault) being incognito was the only way he could safely sneak into the Sorcerer's secret base. If the school found out, the Sorcerer would soon know his ninja had succeeded in contacting him and the element of surprise would be gone. Though he might already know… the Ninja might have gotten away from the Cowboy after they disappeared. Even so, the school could label him as a traitor…

The what ifs and who-knows-whats started to hurt his brain. Randy's train of thought had gotten too complicated and confusing and before he knew it, precious time had slipped away.

"Bastard!" Howard screamed, referring to both Levander and Bash. He had refused to accept that his best friend had actually died; it didn't register in his mind. But as Howard waited and Randy still didn't surface, reality set in.

Anger overrode logic and self-preservation. Howard felt weak and helpless, so his stronger half took over.

Randy was only a few paces away when his best friend started to transform. At first he was glad when he realized how much simpler this made his plan- the hard-packed earth was already starting to crack. Howard would free himself, scare everyone out of the room, and they would be good to go.

But what he didn't understand is how delicate the process is. Every bone in Howard's body had to be broken. Human skulls are too round, their necks too short and their knees bend in the opposite direction. This is normally not a problem; the Tengu's powers are beyond the actualities of science. However, this in between time leaves them extremely vulnerable. Things are half-formed and not quite solid.

Howard yelled again, this time in pain, as his fingers melted to form the primaries but were given no room to expand. The feathers were folded and bent, and the small, fragile bones were reformed out of alignment.

The clay prisons shattered and Randy sprinted towards the partially transformed Tengu, sensing something was wrong. An arm's length from contact, a wall of fire sprung up and encircled the unstable new threat. The owner of the flames was the same fire Mover who had been joking with Buttermaker about her superior powers, the girl with the red-streaked hair.

The 2nd Quadrants knew their entertainment was getting out of control and those without offensive powers were quickly evacuating the Elemental Room.

Julian's possum trick actually worked. Levander was attracted to the movement of the larger group of people.

Randy froze. Forget trying to teach their captors a lesson, they just needed to get out of there. Howard hadn't looked like he was in any shape to take on anybody. He glanced around- Buttermaker could dowse the flames- but instead he noticed Bash had already fled. Coward.

A war cry rose up from behind the fiery wall. Amazingly, a determined figure strode through the flames, impervious consuming heat.

"Howard?" whispered Randy.

The Tengu did not hear and it began to run towards Levander, its talons leaving deep gouges in the ground. Its wings dragged uselessly, though that did not slow it down.

The pink-haired teen screamed like a little girl. Levander was seriously outmatched and the demon bird easily snatched him from the ground with its sharp beak. He tried to use his Energy Absorption, but the Tengu didn't seem to be affected by the loss.

"Howard!" Randy called, much louder now.

The gigantic bird cocked its head, puzzled by the lack of a speaker.

"It's me! Randy!" Somewhere in there, Howard pieced together what had happened. The Tengu flung its prey into the water with a flick of its neck. "Transform back!" There was no way the bird could fit through the doorway.

"Ghost!" Whomever said it, it effectively chased away the remaining 2nd Quadrants.

Randy snickered. For being the most powerful students in the school, that was pathetic.

"Holy cheese, what happened to you?" Randy watched as his friend slowly reappeared until only his arms were still covered with feathers.

"It hurts," he grunted, looking slightly to Randy's left.

Randy became visible and rushed forward to catch Howard before he fell over. He brushed his fingers over some of the feathers, trying to find the problem. Howard sucked air in through his teeth and jerked the limb away.

"Okay, no touchy touchy." Randy gently guided Howard to the elevator, intent on getting him to the nurse's office on the main floor.

Once inside, Howard closed his eyes in concentration and the feathers near his shoulders receded back into his skin at an excruciatingly slow rate.

"Stop that! The nurse can take care of it as is." Randy put a gloved hand on his shoulder, as if he could physically stop him. The shapeshifting had never seemed to hurt him before…

"It has to be one or the other- and he's not happy," Howard replied cryptically. The thought seemed to motivate him. Like someone ripping off a band-aid, he forced the transformation.

What was left behind was so horrible that Randy's first reaction was to shield his eyes. Howard's hands had reformed completely _mangled_. The fingers in best condition were just crooked, but others were bent in the wrong direction at joint and the worst were folded to where the tips touched the back of his hand.

The power of speech failed Randy. This was so much worse than he originally thought.

This time, he let Howard slide down to the floor. There he sat, shoulders shaking from the effort and pain, and his lip bleeding from when he had bit it. Howard turned his head and held his hands in front of him, out of his line of sight.

Randy watched as the floor numbers descended. It was so quiet, just a _ting _every time a floor passed. The effect was agonizing.

What could the nurse do? She doesn't have powers, only an artifact that eliminates pain and encourages healing. He'd have to go to the hospital.

Suddenly, Randy knew what _he_ could do.

Randy knelt down in front of Howard and carefully grasped Howard's wrists so that his hands rested in Randy's palms. As soon as the ninja suit made contact with the broken area, it came alive with pale yellow sparks of energy.

It looked like magic. The two boys were rapt with wonder as the bones realigned themselves and the bruised flesh healed.

As good as new.

Howard flexed his healed fingers, then balled them into a fist and punched Randy in the chest. "That was for making me think you were unalive."

"You mean d-"

"_Unalive."_

_-Friday-_

Randy woke up that morning feeling pretty good about himself. He couldn't help but grin as he remembered when he visited Bash the previous night, pretending to be his own ghost. The dummy totally fell for it! He doubted Bash would bother him ever again.

Actively ignoring P Slimz's morning routine, he noticed that Doug was still asleep in his bunk. He must have come back early in the morning because he hadn't been there when Randy had returned from scaring Bash shitless. Doug had been missing for a whole day!

"Doug!" Randy climbed the bunk's ladder and poked the sleeping boy's feet. "Doug! Did you find anything?"

Doug groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. "Go away… tell you at breakfast."

The mind reader was true to his word; he sat down at Randy and Howard's table just a few minutes after they did.

Howard ate his French toast sticks sullenly; he had hoped Randy had given up on his stupid plan.

"Now I know I said I could find the Sorcerer's secret hideout," Doug began, holding up a hand to discourage questioning, "but I found something almost as good."

Randy's disappointment was visable. He almost considered giving in and approaching the Sorcerer like the ninja wanted- just to speed things up- but he had no idea how to do that. The ninja had found him… it's not like he could wander around Norrisville yelling for a sorcerer.

"I know what you're thinking," Doug chuckled. "I found someone who does know where the Sorcerer is. Her mind was too well guarded and I couldn't get an exact location. Will you accept her name instead?" He slid what looked like a sticky note with "IOU" written on it and a signature line.

"You're kidding, right?" Howard said, beating Randy to the punch. Only Doug would want written proof of a favor.

Randy rolled his eyes, but accepted the offered pen from Doug anyway. The pen's tip was a hair's breadth from the paper when Randy paused. Technically, they weren't supposed to give out their last names…

"Honestly, Randy Cunningham? I thought you knew me by now," Doug teased.

_Yeah, I know you can't mind your own business. _Randy signed the paper. A small lead was better than none. Doug would probably just want him to do his homework for him or something.

"Thank you," Doug snatched the paper up, "Her name is Debbie Kang."

Randy and Howard glanced at each other, silently sharing their surprise. How many Debbies could there be at McFist High?

Doug stood up to go back to his own table. "Also, the ninja you keep thinking about, he's MIA. Thought that it's kinda important to your plan. Good luck."

They waited until the mind reader was out of range to discuss their conclusions.

"Do you think she's…?" Howard left the unsaid words hang between them.

"No, she's been so helpful. She saved your cheese that one time. I didn't even know Smith existed." She had also stood up to Bash. Without her, the gang would have taken Randy to who knows where and left the Tengu to wreak havoc.

Randy considered what he knew of her from their two encounters. She could get into the Super Teen Awesome Club- or whatever it was. She had a cute friend, Theresa, who goes to Norrisville High school. She can make people speak the truth and has access to at least one restricted floor. That's not too weird, but she did ask him if he was the Sorcerer's son… How did she know about that?

Plus the Sorcerer's location… Could all that somehow mean she's a spy and a double agent?

"No," Randy said again, "I think she's like me. She's been doing some snooping herself, maybe she's sick of the Sorcerer demonizing people and no one stopping him. After all, Theresa is her friend. Debbie is probably trying harder than me to get her back. With her truth inducement, it wouldn't be hard for her to get the information."

"I like the way you think, Cunningham."

Howard, of course, had wanted to look for Debbie too, but the mask wouldn't make other people besides the wearer invisible.

It took Randy a while to find Debbie. She wasn't in the cafeteria during lunch, nor on the 2nd Quadrant floors or the beach or the garden. It was possible she was in her dorm or on a restricted floor; he'd never find her if that was the case. After checking all the obvious places, Randy decided to search from the bottom up.

And there she was.

On the main floor across from the office was a bulletin board. Debbie was in the process of pinning a paper up. Randy opened the stair door just enough to slip through. It was more work, climbing the flights of stairs, but it was easier to avoid detection. Howard had suggested it before Randy left and he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it himself. Most people would dismiss the open door as air displacement.

Debbie whirled around and watched the door until swung back into place, leaving the paper hanging by one pin.

Suspicious much?

Randy tiptoed closer to see what the paper was, if it was the cause of her seemingly guilty behavior. He only took a few steps when her gaze fell on the space he occupied. Randy held his breath until Debbie's eyes moved on to search the rest of the room.

Skulking around the corner, he entered the bathroom to take off the mask. It was like she could see him… which was impossible. His foot must have squeaked on the tile or something.

It doesn't take long to pin a sheet of paper, yet Debbie had taken no effort to leave. She leaned casually against the wall as if she were waiting for someone when Randy, with equal casualness, strolled back around the corner.

Debbie was so surprised, Randy was able to get the first word in. "Hey Debbie! How's it going, whatcha doing?"

"Oh, it's you," she said with an edge.

Randy held a hand over his heart, feigning offense. "After all we've gone through and I can't even get a hello?"

She sighed. "Hello Randy."

"That's better. Are you waiting for someone?" Randy walked within a comfortable distance for conversation.

"No… just working on my board." Debbie gestured behind her. "I used to work for the school newspaper at my old school. They don't make a paper here in case the public ever got ahold of one so I'm stuck doing this."

"Your old school, Norrisville High, am I right? Isn't that where Theresa goes?" Randy noticed her figure stiffen. "How has she been doing these days?"

Debbie glared up at him through her bangs. "What do you want Randy?"

"Nothing! I just…" What was he expecting her to say? 'Theresa was kidnapped by the Sorcerer! Please help me save her, I know where the Sorcerer's hideout is.' Well, that's what he hoped she'd say.

"Don't you have more important matters to be thinking about?" She grinned slyly. "Like the Leveling Up Ceremony next week?"

"The what?"

"You know, where you First-Months are divided into your Quadrants and Principal McFist announces who has gone up a Level since last year. I just put the poster up for it." Debbie moved away from the board so Randy could see it.

There was indeed a poster. It informed students about the important event next Thursday in big bold letters. Underneath was clipart of a buff man holding a weight in the air and an asterisk reminding the new students of their role. However, the main focus seemed to be something called the 'Tournament.' At the very bottom was a bracket, like for a basketball game, with spots for four, final competitors. One spot with all its branches was crossed out, leaving three finalists.

"I have been putting this off, I can't think of how a teacher would vouch for me. Don't get me wrong, I totally have powers, but-" Randy turned to Debbie.

She was gone.

Debbie: 1, Randy: 0

Great. Now he had two impossible problems to solve: how to save Theresa and how to not be separated from his best friend.

* * *

_a/n: I wanted to make this longer, but college starts tomorrow and who knows how long it'll take me to write the major point of this fic. So I quick wrote just enough to resolve the cliffhanger and lead into the next chapter. So what do you think? Is Debbie trustworthy? What will happen to our two protags? What is the Tournament?_

_Thank you for all the new favs and follows, kisses for the lovely reviews! Til next time :)_

_(no editing was done to this chapter plz forgive my mistakes)_


	15. Chapter 10

_-Thursday-_

"Manticores of McFist High, I personally want to congratulate you on surviving the first month of the fall semester," Principal McFist said, reading the words off a screen hovering above the student body, "both figuratively and literally."

There were a few chuckles; everyone knew students didn't _actually_ die.

"I welcome back our returning students and warmly welcome our new students to their first year. The beginning of the year always holds excitement and promise as you learn more about yourself and your budding 'special talents.'"

Randy rolled his eyes. He was leaning back in one of the hard, metal fold-out chairs that had been set up in the gym, all facing the temporary stage. He swore those sitting near him could feel the irritation radiating from his body. The last five days had literally been the worst. He had felt pent up all weekend; if only he could've gotten the location from Debbie… Then he could've investigated the hideout.

Back at school, he kept his eye out for her, but she was really good at avoiding him. As if this wasn't frustrating enough, he had been able to count down on one hand the number of days until he and Howard were to be separated.

"Today marks my fourteenth time standing before you. As my father before me, my goals are to train, strengthen, and empower you to live your life without detection. I am honored to be entrusted with this vital task and I… promise to do my best." McFist squinted at the screen, wondering who wrote all this nonsense.

"Every year, we like to recognize those who have shown improvement from the previous year or within the last month. These hard-working individuals are going to 'level up' and are one step closer to graduation."

There had been nothing he could do. In order to move up a whole quadrant, not just a level, a teacher needed to vouch for his sudden gain of powers and that they were legitimate. Even if an artifact (like the Ninja mask) gave the user amazing powers, the user would still be in Quadrant 4 with all the useless, non-threatening powers. Randy thought back to when Mac said Finn had used it to go up in quadrants and had checked the rules with Mrs. Driscoll. Object Affinity had been classified as its own power around ten years ago and grouped with the 4th Quadrant. So basically, even if Randy wanted to give up his secret weapon it'd be for nothing.

Whatever happened with Bash seemed to be a one time thing. He had no powers for a teacher to vouch for. This was it.

"Adrien, Umbrageous Teleportation, Level 4." Everyone clapped politely.

"Cynthia, Self-Replication, Level 7."

McFist continued down the list. Randy didn't recognize any of the names so he tuned it out.

_Click. _

The small noise came from Howard's direction. He was playing with a lighter in his lap- rather carelessly, Randy might add.

A small smile tugged at Randy's mouth. He remembered a few days ago when Howard had said, "Look, Cunningham!" and had placed his hand above the open flame. Instinctually, Randy had knocked the lighter away from him. Turns out that since the Tengu is fireproof, so is Howard. It was kinda awesome actually.

Howard now liked to show off to anyone who would watch. He also hoped it would be enough to take him to Level 8.

"Morgan, Animation, Level 5."

Apparently not. His name would have been read already.

"Oswald, Shoelace Entanglement, Level 11."

Is it almost over yet? Randy just wanted the Tournament to start already. Driscoll had explained it on Monday in case anyone wanted to participate. It was like boxing, but with no bars on powers. Kids were allowed to beat the shit outta each other. In order to facilitate the event without anyone dying, the school hired a healer from the sister school in Japan every year. If you were healed, however, you lost. The winner had to beat all the competitors in his or her Quadrant without being fatally injured. The three winners (no 1st Quadrants this year) would then champion their Quadrant at Homecoming. It made up for the lack of sports.

Howard had signed up. Randy found it unlikely that he would win since over half the school was in Quadrant 3, but Randy would cheer him on nonetheless.

"Randy, Invisibility, Level 9."

The perfunctory applause ended prematurely. Heads turned and whispered.

Randy noticed none of this, not the student body's reaction, not Howard's thumbs up of congratulation, nor Mcfist's disgruntled expression as he read the last few names on the list.

There had to be more than one Randy in the school, but yet… He looked over to the staff section. Mac Antfee met his gaze, and winked.

He didn't care how Mac managed it, or why, he was going to stay with his best friend! He wouldn't have to worry about the unknown horrors of the 4th Quadrant rooms; who cares how he'll hide the mask while maintaining the façade of Invisibility! _For once,_ Randy thought, _life didn't screw me over._

"Wade, Pain Detection, Level 10." McFist cleared his throat. "Now, before the fun begins, I must remind you of the very few Tournament rules. First, for all of those with Spike Projection and similar powers, NO head or chest impalements- they only have a 25 percent success rate for healing. Also, using a healer or healing artifacts between matches means disqualification and no fighting between matches either. Everything else goes."

The students were asked to leave for the next half hour while the arena in the gym was set up.

"Howard, I did it, I did it!" Randy exclaimed, jumping up and down like a little kid on his birthday.

"I'm happy for you bro."

The best friends performed their secret handshake that involved intricate hand gestures, a lot of fist bumps, and an elbow bump.

Randy grinned. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"So when are you fighting today?"

Howard looked at one of the many papers posted to the walls. "Not til later on I think. I'm against a guy named Daniel with Intangibility."

"Any plans on how you're going to defeat him?"

The duo discussed fighting strategies until the PA system announced that the gym was open for the Tournament. Many went back to the ground level to watch the first round, but Howard heard some older kids discussing how the balconies had a better view of all three fights. Randy and Howard fought their way up to one of the prime spots and they weren't disappointed. Three rings, much bigger than the average boxing ring, were set up.

In the 4th Quadrant's was a girl with long blonde hair who could jump extraordinary heights. Her challenger was another girl who was like one of those stupid toys that never fall over, just wobble. Needless to say, the fight wasn't very entertaining.

The 3rd Quadrant ring was lit. Doug 8 had transformed his body into metal and was throwing punches at an elastic girl who was stretching her body to trip him. As he fell, she wound her arms around his neck and tightened them. However, his skin was solid metal; it was like trying to choke a lamppost. Doug stood up, but was unable to detach her. She twisted into impossible positions to avoid his grasp so the only part he could touch were her arms. Every time he pulled a loop of them from his neck, they snapped back like rubber bands.

The current stalemate prompted Howard to direct Randy's attention to the 2nd Quadrant ring. Buttermaker and a boy with black hair tied in a braid were circling each other.

"Y'know, I have a big advantage over everyone else in my- our quadrant," Howard said.

"What's that?" Randy questioned, eyes not leaving the ring.

"I have you! If something happens you can heal me again and no one would know."

"Howard, that's cheating!"

"AKA winning." Howard gasped. "Whoa, what happened?"

The lights had gone out above the 2nd Quadrant competitors. They could still see Buttermaker and the other guy due to the lights from the rest of the gym, but the shadows were playing tricks with their minds. It looked like braid guy was sinking through the floor.

And then he was gone.

Buttermaker held his hands out, balls of liquid forming in each.

As quickly as he disappeared, he reappeared, rising up from the shadow cast behind Buttermaker. He deftly kicked Buttermaker in the back and dissolved into darkness once again. Buttermaker let the water go in order to catch himself.

"Shadow walking? That is so bruce! I'd still bet my money on BM though," Randy added.

A cheer went up; Doug had won. The next competitors entered the ring.

The Shadow Walker tried the same trick again, but this time the Water Mover was prepared. Buttermaker danced out of the foot's path and the Shadow Walker fell when his heel met open air. Buttermaker extended his fingers towards his opponent's prone body, like he was reaching for something. Suddenly, the Shadow Walker started to convulse and gag. The lights flickered back on.

Randy was about to joke that Buttermaker had the Force when the unknown boy began coughing up dark liquid. A whisper of _blood _ran through the student body. The Shadow Walker slapped the floor with the hand not holding his throat.

Buttermaker was declared victorious.

This process repeated itself for the next hour. Two would enter, one would be carried out on a stretcher, and two more would replace them. The 4th Quadrant finished first with only nine winners. It was not surprising since very few of their powers were combative. On the other hand, Quadrant 3 was barely even halfway done as it seemed everyone but Randy had signed up to fight and Quadrant 4 was only on its third fight. Currently, Morgan was kicking butt with her armor knights.

"You nervous?" Randy asked.

"Who, me? Naw… okay, maybe a little," Howard vacillated. "I just wish I could get it over with. The longer this goes on, the more horrible injuries I see. That one guy with the broken arm?" He made a disgusted noise.

Randy wrinkled his nose at the memory. His elbow had been bent all the way in the wrong direction.

"Is that what I think it is?" Howard pointed down to where a little booth was set up, a line already forming. "Food! I want nachos, if they don't have those, then pizza." He shoved a few folded bills at Randy.

Randy rolled his eyes. "Fiiine. You better tip me when I get back!"

He rode the elevator down and joined the line. He didn't mind getting things for his friend all the time, in fact it was a miracle Howard gave him cash at all.

On ground level, it was difficult to watch both fights at once. Eventually he gave up and started watching other things instead, like how the foreign healer was straining to finish up a job while the wounded started to pile up around her and how the teachers were overseeing the Tournament, emotionless. Except for Mac, who was pumped and shouted insults.

"YOU CALL THAT A CROSS YOU BOOGER EATING SON OF A FART FARMER?!"

Randy committed the most creative names to memory for future use.

The person at the front of the line took his food and turned- Bash. He passed by Randy and flipped him off with his free hand. Randy was tempted to return the gesture, but thought better of it. After all, it was much more amusing to reflect on why he was receiving it and give Bash a shit-eating grin.

The night of the incident with Levander, Randy had decided to play the part of a vengeful spirit. It was so easy, and Bash had believed every word. Of course, Bash had seen him around the school since then, obviously alive. But invisibility was a powerful repellent and Randy was confident Bash would never bully him again.

"Excuse me, pardon me…" Viceroy pushed through the line a couple people in front of Randy, heading straight for the door. His visor was down and his mouth was pressed into a tight line, fingers moving at an impossible speed on the virtual keyboard.

Randy glanced around. No one else seemed concerned, so he released the tension in his muscles.

In less than a minute, it was his turn. Unsurprisingly, the multi-limbed lunch lady was the one operating the concession stand.

"Whadyawant," she said, the words blending from overuse.

"Nachos and a pretzel."

He handed over the money and looked up to check if his friend was where he left him. Yup.

Just as Randy reached for the snacks, an alarm started to blare.

"Code Green!" Viceroy yelled over the loudspeaker. "Quadrant 4 stay where you are, the rest to your positions!" In the background, it sounded like something big was pounding its fists against a steel door. The speaker clicked, and there was instant chaos.

The 4th Quadrants were supposed to hide in the closest safe spot, 3rd Quadrants fight the intruders and 2nd Quadrants guard the Principal and the restricted access floors.

Randy smiled; the day had just gone from great to awesome. He checked on Howard again who was looking back this time. Howard was shaking his head and making a scissoring motion with his hands as if to say _"I know what you're thinking, DON'T!"_

With one last wistful glance at the food, Randy ducked behind a trash bin to change. Then he waited a few moments to make sure no one was watching.

Randy had thought this out, if he joined too early then he'd have to fight against his own classmates or else the Sorcerer's minions wouldn't trust him. He had to slip in during the retreat. It would have been simpler to stay invisible the entire time, but when he had explored the school for hours on end there had been a side effect. He had stayed invisible even after taking the mask off. It only took an hour to fade back into view, but if something went wrong he didn't want the effect to be permanent.

Entering the stairwell, Randy decided to go up on the basis that the 'top secret' floors must be the target. Who would attack the cafeteria, one of the few floors below the gym? The food was crap. Randy turned invisible and slipped through the first door he heard fighting behind. It was the Quadrant 3 floor Howard had been practicing in that one day.

There, Randy got his first look at a Stanked. His face would have been plain and non-remarkable if not for the long pointy teeth forcing his jaw apart. Red mangy fur ran down the length of his bare human back. He lunged at his attackers on all fours like a monkey- a monkey with arms six feet long. The simian limbs sported more red fur and so did the tail protruding from its jeans.

Randy stood in horrified awe. It may have once been a human, but no longer.

A ring of girls (or rather, the same girl who could create duplicates) distracted it by pulling its tail every time it turned while a super speeding blur darted in and out, landing punches when she could. The monkey roared and suddenly, the girls were sprawled on the ceiling. When they stood up, it was like gravity had been flipped for them.

The monkey huffed, apparently satisfied, and turned to leave.

Randy followed it to the next floor where it teamed up with a more human-like, but ultimately more grotesque minion. His arms were longer than his body and twice as thick. His back was hunched from the weight as they dragged behind him. In two steps he could cross a large room, not because his legs could stretch that far, but he teleported the distance. Or, his feet did and the rest caught up eventually like a failed panorama.

With great effort, he would lift his oversized arms and swing them like clubs. The McFist High students were putting up a pretty good fight, but they weren't equipped to oppose gravity. The duo were disabling them easily.

Despite the unpleasantness of the Stanked, Randy was underwhelmed. The way the school had gone on about the Sorcerer he had thought the battles would be more… gruesome. Sure, they were all going to have bruises in the morning, but the Tournament had been more violent than this! This was all good news, because if a classmate were in danger he certainly wouldn't be standing around. It just wasn't adding up.

This couldn't be it, where was everyone else?

"Operation Free Bird is a bust!" All eyes turned to the newcomer. "Viceroy set up a new alarm system; alert everyone upstairs of the retreat!"

It was Debbie Kang!

The two Stanked cursed (the monkey dude made more of a hissing noise) and followed her orders. She filed out behind them, turning in the opposite direction on her own mission.

Randy's brain was having a hard time registering what he had just witnessed. He didn't know much about her, but he never would have guessed that she was a traitor. After a split second of hesitation, Randy changed his plan. Debbie was up to something, he just knew it.

She confidently walked down two flights of stairs to the floor with the library and basic studies classrooms. Randy followed at a safe distance, placing every foot with care. She had seemed to notice him last time and he didn't want that to happen again.

Debbie strode past the classrooms and into the library. As he walked past the main desk, Randy had to stifle a gasp. The librarian- Joe, Randy remembered- was unconscious and stuck to the wall by a murky yellow goo. Gross! He did not want to meet the monster that made it. He briefly considered which end the goo had come from when he realized his quarry had moved on without him.

Randy jogged down the main aisle, glancing back and forth. Eventually, he found her at the far end of the room furiously punching numbers on a keypad. The door was marked "staff only" and had no door handle.

"Should have honking known Viceroy would've changed the code," she muttered to herself. Then her body went rigid and she stopped what she was doing. "Finn? Is that you?"

She turned and took a hesitant step in his direction. Randy figured now was a good a time as ever and became visible. "Finn!" Her face lit up and she crossed the space between them as if she was going in for a hug. Debbie stopped short when he did not react. "I mean, Ninja. Sorry. I hadn't heard from you in almost two weeks," her voice cracked, "It was my fault. Viceroy had found out somehow and fed me a false lead. I led the McForcers straight to you! I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful."

Randy was extremely aware of how little he knew, and of how terrible an actor he was. He was about to say something along the lines of a forgiving "that's okay" when she pressed on. Debbie explained the plan to rescue him from McFist, mentioning the roles of many unfamiliar names, and then how someone had tripped an alarm. What kind of school had prison cells? Or had an army of robots that kidnapped people? She ended with a confused "How _did _you escape?"

He had to talk now. "I…" he cleared his throat and tried to deepen his voice, "Your attack on the cells was a good distraction." She nodded slowly, confused.

"Why didn't you tell us you had escaped? They're getting crushed down there!" She said accusingly, her assertive personality returning. "Quick, call them before we lose anyone else!"

_With a cell phone? _Randy thought. _Or does the suit have some sort of communicator? _

"I can't," said Randy, hoping the vague answer would satisfy her. He could pretend it broke or something.

"Did they… their experiments?" Debbie said softly.

Randy nodded once, rolling with it. She was asking too many questions; he had to get away from her…

She buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry Finn, I shouldn't have…" the small girl let out a sigh. "They've been looking to me for leadership, I just can't do this."

"I believe in you," Randy said, backing up a few steps. "Here, I'll go check and make sure everyone is retreating."

"No, you can't leave me!" Debbie latched onto his arm desperately.

Once again, Randy was surprised by the amount of strength and fire she had for her height. Debbie planted her feet and tugged on his arm so that he stumbled back into a bookcase. Randy barely had time to catch himself.

Debbie moved in. One hand grabbed the suit's scarf to keep him from moving and the other formed a fist. She pulled on the scarf, forcing Randy to look down at her.

"Who are you!?" Her face was hard, like a stone.

Randy belatedly realized that it had all been an act, or at least some of it. He struggled, trying to break free. Debbie was having none of it. She swung her fist straight up into the masked figure's jaw.

His head snapped backwards and his unconscious body fell to the floor.

* * *

_a/n It's not as long as I wanted, but the chapter took forever because a) college b) work c) I did some math and it revealed a plot-changing continuity error. To clarify: present is 2012, sorcerer attacked in 1978. If mcfist is in his early forties then he would have started the school when he was 5 or something. I had to minorly edit chap 3 and 7. Long story short, McFist's father founded the school and McFist became principal in 1998. (The error changed way more than this, but it was stuff I hadn't written yet) this has been a PSA_

_Thank you to _judaiandjohan_ for betaing!_


	16. Chapter 11

_Heads up for some more swearing this chapter._

_-?-_

Randy was cold. Instinctively he reached for the blanket that had probably been pushed to the end of the bed, but he couldn't move. He was still in that dreamlike state before consciousness where his mind would play tricks with reality. Suddenly he was in a coffin, buried deep down where there was no light, no sound, no warmth. He couldn't move and the walls were closing in…

"Hey look, the spy's awake."

Randy awoke with a jolt. The first thing he saw was a girl. Or perhaps woman was the better word. She was most likely in her late twenties or early thirties; it was hard to tell due to her heavy makeup. Her dark hair fell way past her figure-hugging blouse and tight miniskirt to her knees. She was gorgeous- except for the sour expression on her face.

"What…?" Randy's mind could barely process what he was seeing, let alone a coherent question.

Randy's hands were chained behind his back around a support column in an old office. He knew it was old because papers were peeling of its walls, the floor was bare, dirty concrete (his butt was already numb) and it was sparsely furnished. He also knew it was an office because he was sitting across from a desk.

Someone was on that desk. She was Debbie Kang.

The events from before… all this (how long had he been out?) came flooding back into his mind.

"Traitor!" Randy struggled against his bonds, wanting to give the girl a punch in the face as payback.

Debbie rolled her eyes and hopped down from the desk so that she could casually lean against it. It was light enough that it shifted backward from her weight. She stumbled, then stood with an annoyed look on her face.

"Aw, how cute," the woman cooed mockingly, "the pot's calling the kettle black."

He wasn't a traitor! Okay, maybe he looked like it because of the ninja suit, but… he searched his mind for a good comeback but found none.

"I'm not a traitor," he muttered.

"No, but you were trying to spy on us," Debbie said, crossing the room and kneeling in front of him. "Who are you?"

Randy sensed the power behind her words and was reminded of a few weeks ago when she had confronted him at the teens' club. This time however, he did not feel compelled to answer. He sat smugly in silence.

"_Who are you?"_ Debbie tried again, then made a noise of disgust. "It's no use."

"Maybe you should try a little harder, sweetie," the woman said. The words might have been supportive, but her tone was far from it. "After all, you lost a third of our forces to bring this _boy_ back."

Debbie's fists clenched. "Well maybe you should pull your head out of your ass Amanda!"

This would have amused Randy if he wasn't so scared that the girl would turn on him and punch him again. Come on! He had a magical ninja getup and he couldn't even escape some handcuffs? Invisibility and healing were terrible offensive powers.

Amanda's mouth formed an O, like she was surprised that anyone would dare say such a rude thing to her pretty face.

"Look, just tell us who you are and take off the mask so we can send you back to McIdiot okay? It'll be a simple trade, you for our Ninja," Debbie said.

Wonk. Without the suit, escape would be near impossible. It also brought up another problem. Last time he saw the Ninja, he was trying to bring Randy to the Sorcerer. They might not ever let him go back to McFist.

"Make me," came Randy's juvenile response, emboldened by his earlier victory.

Amanda fumed. "Believe me, you will _regret_ this." She turned to Debbie. "Be a darling and go get… Bongo? The clown one, whatever its name is."

"His name is Juggo and let me handle this." Debbie went back to the desk and sat on it. Despite her short height, she was able to hop up effortlessly. "I'm going to tell you what happened- correct me if I'm wrong Mystery Boy."

Randy nodded hesitantly. He stood up the best he could in his restrained position; it took a little work since his legs were tingling from being on the floor so long. Randy didn't like how the girl was looking down on him.

"First off, you must be a student at McFist High. He doesn't like hiring outsiders- that's why he had Viceroy build him his secondary robot army. Also, your voice sounds pretty young, even when you tried to disguise it. Am I right?"

"And Finn was much more defined," Amanda added.

"Hey!" Randy knew it was true, but still.

"Just answer the question, yes or no will do," Debbie said.

Randy waffled on whether he was going to answer her or not. He decided her first conclusions were harmless. "Mhm."

Debbie looked pleased. "Of course, McDick had kidnapped Finn. The McForcers were probably a distraction. Finn would have destroyed them easily. I bet the Messenger himself took care of business." She paused. "I don't know when he brought you in on this deal or how much you know, but Finn is dead isn't'he?"

Randy shrugged.

"How else could you have gotten the mask?! They interrogated him, Finn refused to answer their questions and they killed him! He would never hand over the Mask willingly to our enemy!" Debbie was frowning; she looked genuinely upset. "Later, he cut you some kind of deal, handing you the Mask and telling you the typical nonsense about how we are trying to turn everyone in the school to monsters. You accepted and laid low until we tried to rescue our Ninja so that you could pretend to be him."

Randy remained silent.

"You did a bang up job. Didn't they brief you at all? And why did you come to me?" It wasn't a question for him. Debbie was lost in thought. "It would have been more convincing to pretend that our plan worked and let us rescue you. You lied to me that you escaped."

Randy was sweating and he was very thankful that the suit's fabric was black. He wanted to say yes. He was a little confused about Debbie's scenario, but it made sense to her. She thought he was important enough that McFist would trade his important prisoner (if he was still alive) for him! In reality, he was nothing. He hoped McFist cared enough about his students to do it though.

Unfortunately, Debbie would detect a lie.

"Are my assumptions correct? Were you spying for McFist in hopes of finding our location by impersonating our Ninja?"

Reluctantly, Randy shook his head.

"Y-you aren't spying?" She stuttered in disbelief.

"No."

"Half truth," she declared, satisfied. "And working with McFist?"

"No."

Debbie was once again flabbergasted. "Are you working for someone else?"

"Nope."

Debbie was silent, no doubt thinking of more yes or no questions.

"This is boring," Amanda whined. "Just let the clown scare him shitless! He'll spill his guts in no time!"

Randy winced. Clown weren't as scary as chickens, but that did not sound fun. And he really hoped 'spilling his guts' was not literal.

"No! We need to make sure we have the whole story and nothing but the truth. Plus it's good practice," Debbie replied. "So you are working by yourself?"

"Yes." Randy knew he could choose to stay silent. However, having a clown rip his guts out was not his idea of a good time.

"Mostly truth?" Debbie was concerned again. "Did you steal the mask?"

"No."

"Someone stole it for you?"

"No."

Debbie threw up her hands in frustration. "Did you find it?"

"No." Randy sighed. As amusing as this was, it couldn't go on forever. He was tied up and they were going to find out one way or another. "He gave it to me."

"He- what?" Debbie crinkled her nose. "Truth. Did he give it to you because-"

"Holy cheese, no more questions just take the honking mask off!"

"Not only does the Norisu Mask protect from any sort of mind control, it also can only be removed by the user or someone he trusts," Debbie said.

That would have been nice to know earlier. "So untie me then! I won't run."

"Lie!" Debbie hissed.

"I won't try to run until after I take the mask off," he conceded.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Or turn invisible instead of taking the mask off."

Debbie smiled. "See Amanda?"

Amanda huffed, but handed the key to Debbie. In turn, Debbie unlocked the handcuffs.

Randy messaged his wrists, trying to delay the inevitable. Then, true to his word, he removed the mask from his head. In a brief flash of light, Randy Cunningham stood in front of his captors dressed in skinny jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh my god, it's you," Debbie deadpanned.

"Nice to see you too, Debs." Randy feigned hurt.

"I don't believe this! He was captured trying to find you and then you stole," she snatched the mask from him, "his artifact and stalked me? What the juice?" exclaimed Debbie.

"I just told you I didn't steal it! Look, he did find me, but there were all these robots so he gave it to me for safekeeping or whatever. Then this cowboy appeared and took him away."

Amanda cleared her throat. "Excuse me? Who is this?"

"He's _supposedly_ the Sorcerer's son," Debbie said.

"Ah, him," Amanda said it like 'ew, germs.'

Randy had to think of something fast. The room had no windows and the door was closed and possibly locked. From there, the Sorcerer's hideout could be underground or floating a hundred miles in the sky for all he knew. Escape would be highly unlikely without the mask.

Howard was probably worried sick and at the end of Friday so would his mother. He should have listened to his friend; this had been a horrible idea.

"I can see you don't like me very much- I know when I'm not wanted- so I'll just get going now," Randy said hopefully, starting for the door.

"Not so fast," Debbie said. "_Why did you pose as the Ninja?"_

Randy barely had enough time to think 'ugh, I'm an idiot' before it all came tumbling out without the mask's protection.

"I wanted to save Theresa and anyone else from the Sorcerer's evil plan and then give McFist the location so I could prove I'm not a mistake." There, he said it. He hadn't even realized his complicated emotions could boil down to one sentence, but it was true. Not only did he feel like it was a mistake that he was enrolled at McFist High, sometimes he felt like his entire existence was a mistake. His father hadn't been interested in a family; he was a product of one, careless night.

Defeating the villain and saving a girl is what all heroes did, right? If he could be a hero, then he wasn't a failure.

"Seriously." She said, unimpressed. "There's someone you need to talk to."

With that, Debbie reattached the handcuffs and led him out the door and through a drab hallway. There were a few other doors, which were closed. Randy was pretty sure he knew where they were going- straight to the big man himself, the Sorcerer. He hoped he was wrong. Would he too be turned into an ugly monster? Or would he be spared due to his special status? Debbie, Finn and Amanda all looked normal now that he thought about it.

Amanda walked confidently ahead of them; she knew exactly where they were going. At the end of the corridor, she passed through the doorway, not bothering to hold it open for Debbie.

"I thought you and Theresa were friends?" Randy said accusingly before Debbie opened the door.

"We are," Debbie confirmed. She saw his confused expression and continued, "Please, stop trying to pretend like you know everything. I don't know how you knew she was here, but she's safe. And if you see her, try not to stare."

She pulled him through the doorway into a huge, central area.

"Actually, don't stare at anyone. Keep your eyes down."

The Sorcerer's base was a repurposed factory. The floor was made of concrete; holes and metal bits sticking up hinted at all that had been removed to make room. The walls were grimy and faded pink lettering read 'Norrisville Fudge.' A rusted metal claw hung from the ceiling by a chain, reminding Randy of the games where you fished for a stuffed animal. Below the claw was a raised dais, around that many tables were set up. At these tables sat the Sorcerer's army.

The sight threw Randy for a second- the half-human things were casually eating a meal and conversing like they weren't the stuff of nightmares or part of a group that abducted children from school. It couldn't have been all of them though, Randy estimated about 20 creatures were there. He looked away quickly. Debbie was watching like a hawk.

No one seemed to care that Debbie was dragging a prisoner across the room. A few glanced up but continued eating. Except for one.

"Debbie!" A familiar voice yelled across the room.

Debbie roughly yanked on her captive's restraints, warning him. He didn't see her come to them, but could tell where she was as she talked.

"And Randy! Awesome. Hey, where's Finn? Amanda wouldn't tell us anything."

"Long story… It's not mine to tell anyway. We have to talk to the Sorcerer first."

Keeping his head down, Randy used his peripheral vision to sneak a look at Theresa. His first thought was 'she's not wearing any pants!' Though he figured no pants had been invented that would fit her.

Her top half was just like he remembered, really cute, and she wore a yellow crop top. From her waist down were eight green legs (tentacles?). He had been too late! Howard was right… Morbid curiosity wouldn't let him look away. They were not from a spider or an octopus; they reminded him of a flower's stem or a vine- no joints and they were covered with fuzzy little hairs.

"Move." Debbie not so gently pushed him forward.

"Be nice, Debs," Theresa scolded.

Randy quick looked back at Theresa; she smiled and waved.

"Don't make me smack you," Debbie muttered. Randy returned his eyes to the floor.

She guided him through another series of doors and hallways, finally stopping in front of one door that she tapped politely.

"Come in," a gruff voice answered, muffled by the barrier.

Debbie opened it and stepped aside, prompting Randy to enter first. Waiting for him was Amanda and the ugliest man Randy had ever seen. He took the expression 'green around the gills' to a whole new level. His skin wasn't an alien green, it was pale with a green hue like a moldy corpse. He was bald and a crooked grin revealed seriously neglected teeth. As if this wasn't gross enough, there was something else disturbing about him. It took Randy a second to figure out: his eyes. They had no color, just white on black.

"I knew you would come to me."

Randy suppressed a shiver. The Sorcerer practically oozed psycho. "I was actually kidnapped, but _okay_."

Amanda giggled. The Sorcerer whispered something to her and she reluctantly removed herself from his lap. She gave Randy a dirty look and left the room.

The Sorcerer did not get up from the desk he was seated at. Randy had thought someone with the title of sorcerer would be on some sort of throne in a creepy dungeon or basement. On the contrary, the room was a cozy, disorganized place. Books and unusual tools cluttered every available horizontal surface and the walls were painted a cheery yellow. A large rug covered the floor.

"Don't you see? It was Hannibal who kidnapped you; we brought you home." He gestured for Randy to take a seat in front of him.

Randy acquiesced, thinking all the while how this disgusting man could be related to him. Did he have some sort of disease? Randy wouldn't even hazard a guess at the Sorcerer's age, he was that far gone. (Young enough for Amanda to get all cozy with him… Ew, never mind.) Randy sat down, but pulled the chair back a bit so he wouldn't be too close.

The Sorcerer hummed. "Horrible, isn't it? Don't worry, I'm not contagious."

Randy shrugged. He did not feel the least bit guilty about how obvious his thoughts had been.

The man carefully ran his cracked, yellowed fingernails down the length of his discolored arm. "It is a side effect of a gift from Hannibal McFist." Suddenly, he slammed his arms down across the desk.

The action startled Randy. He almost jumped out of his seat, but then he noticed something. Two gold colored bracelets encased the Sorcerer's wrists. They were too big to be considered gaudy jewelry- they were handcuffs without a chain.

"Power dampeners, inhibitor cuffs, whatever you want to call them." He brought his arms back to a more natural position by his body. "Not only have I been denied the use of my innate abilities for almost fifteen years, but they have disrupted the natural flow of energy. My own powers, turned against me, poisoning me." His voice had dropped to a whisper by the end.

Something was off. Randy shifted nervously in the chair. He had been expecting maybe anger for the trouble he had caused or maybe awkward happiness for the reunion of a long lost son to his father. _This _was somehow worse.

"Do you see how this is a problem?" The Sorcerer sneered.

No. It dawned on Randy that if the Sorcerer couldn't use his powers, then everyone was safe!

"Not really." Randy smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back. The enemy had lost its Ninja, a third of its forces, and the leader lacked powers. The Sorcerer's defeat was inevitable.

"Ah, but then who has been deforming students from McFist High all these years?"

Randy opened his mouth, and then closed it.

"I know you don't trust me after all the lies you have been fed, but I am certain you will join our cause if you'll only listen to my story."

He wanted to resist. The Sorcerer was evil! But then why did Principal McFist say the Sorcerer was doing things he couldn't?

The Sorcerer nodded, taking his silence as a cue to begin.

* * *

_What's going on? He tried to say. It came out in a monosyllabic jumble of sound. His mind felt numb and he couldn't think of anything except that it was bright and he really had to pee. As he regained consciousness, other sensations were added to the list like his wrists hurt and his forearm was sore._

"_Welcome back to Hell." A gruff voice said._

_Tim turned his head, surprised to see something other than white. There was another student (he assumed he was also a student because the last place he remembered being at was the school) in the room. His dark red hair stood out like a fake nose on a clown. His cutoff t-shirt revealed more red hair and he even had a beard started. Dang that's one hairy dude, Tim thought._

"_I'd shake ya hand, but wer both a bit tied up at the moment." He rattled the chains as emphasis. "Name's Catfish. Mind Control, Level 5."_

"_Cat…fish?" Tim said slowly, the stranger's name somehow more concerning than the fact that they were chained to the wall in some sort of medical area. Nowhere else could be that white._

_The rugged teen grit his teeth. "Somthun wrong with that?"_

"_No, no. My name is Tim. Demonization, Level 3," he offered._

_Catfish whistled. "Well ya did quite a number on that poor fucker. I've never seen anythin' like that before- he had blood coming over of his eyes and everythin'!"_

"_Excuse me?" The last thing he remembered was going to the principal's office. He hadn't been in trouble and he especially didn't start a fight or something. He was tiny! Shrimps like him couldn't 'do a number' on anything. Unless he used his powers… "What happened?"_

"_Ya must be new to this then. Doc Driscoll is usin' us as science experiments, that's what's happenin."_

_Tim instinctually panicked, tugging on the restraints. _

"_Wer fine, calm down. Wer just the donors. They'll give us food and a cell to sleep in, in return we give them blood every once n' awhile." Catfish crossed his arms casually- a difficult feat considering the short leash they were on. "The subjects on the other hand? Not so lucky. Lots of pain n' screaming. Then they in permanent coma."_

"_This is insane! Mind control someone and get us out of here!" He had come to McFist High to get off the streets, but that alternative was looking pretty good right about now._

"_Can't. I can only control 'non-sentient beings,' like dogs."_

"_Well then I'm busting us out, but you have to trust me."_

_They were tied up far enough apart that they couldn't touch, but that did not stop Catfish from shuffling further in the opposite direction warily. _

"_I promise it won't hurt, but you have to accept it. I cannot force a transformation without physical contact or if you are emotionally vulnerable," Tim said. He had never found anyone who would submit to the process willingly, so he figured the school didn't know he could do it. _

_A cold knot of certainty formed under his ribcage. This school's first mistake was messing with him, their last was going to be underestimating his power._

"_I dunno about this…" _

"_Do you want out or not?"_

_There was a moment of silence. Tim grinned wickedly; he could feel the teenager's emotions- anxiety, hope and finally resolve. Catfish didn't have to say a word. The future Sorcerer sent his power out to the open mind and the creation released was a sight to behold._

_The preteen reveled in the destruction his creation wrought. As the duo progressed through the hallway, Tim found more willing to join him. The evil he saw in each new room sickened him to the core. Demonization wasn't the nicest power, but he always returned the owner's body. _

_The war had begun._

* * *

"Catfish Booray was my right hand man from then on. We were unstoppable together; I raised the army and he controlled it. His gris-gris stored my power and allowed him to assume his Pythanthigator form whenever he wished," the Sorcerer sighed. "Those were the good days."

Randy was still trying to process the fact that Mcfist's father had been _experimenting on his students. _He had been trying to make synthetic powers that could be transferred to non-powered humans for profit.

Not to mention that the Sorcerer was actually the good guy. It had taken a couple of years, but eventually the two sides came to a truce. The school would do what it was supposed to and teach the children instead of exploiting them and the Sorcerer would leave them alone.

"But what about Principal McFist Jr.? You said you won, what's going on now?" Randy asked.

"That son of a bitch ruined over ten years of peace. Hannibal resumed his father's work when he became principal in 1998, but this time he wants to give himself powers. I would have stopped him years ago, but," he gestured to his inhibitors, "he… tricked me. His damned Crafter made them from Titanium and a melted down artifact. The only one who can unlock them is his new scientist, Viceroy. However, before he restrained me, he stored much of the gaseous form of my power and converted it into an unstable liquid. McFist has achieved his goal of transferring powers with it, but it has side effects. So far, his step-son is the only successful test."

Speaking of which…

"So… you're my dad, right?"

The man frowned, choosing his words carefully.

"I had a son once. He died. After that… well, let's just say that there's a good chance. McFist certainly thought so. Plus, we reviewed the footage of your fight with his step-son and we think you might have the rare gift of Power Erasure."

Boom. It was like a bomb had dropped; that statement somehow blew all the other crazy things he'd learned out of the water.

The Sorcerer leaned in conspiratorially. "Are you in?"

Randy grinned. "I'm in."

"Welcome home."

* * *

_a/n: Sorry this took so long, I got hooked on Transformers beginning of break. Also… this may be my last update on this unless I get some serious inspiration. I didn't plan much beyond the sorcerer revealing the plot twist. I grew out of this fandom awhile ago so yeah. If you really want it I can write another, shorter chapter with Theresa's, Debbie's and Finn's backstories. Any questions?_

_Thank you to my beta who caught some annoying errors :)_


End file.
